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STAR signs 75th organisation to faster transfers initiative

Press Release

STAR signs 75th organisation to faster transfers initiative

9 December 2020

STAR has seen the 75th organisation to commit to the faster transfers initiative, as momentum and support for delivering better consumer outcomes continues to grow across the broad spectrum of the financial services industry.

Allfunds is the latest and 75th organisation to have committed to the initiative, joining a broad range of organisations helping to shape recognised, industry-wide standards to promote good practice in transfers.

Allfunds is one of the world’s leading wealthtech companies with a service offering which includes data & analytics, portfolio & reporting tools, research and regulatory services. Created in 2000, Allfunds offers the largest fund distribution network globally and access to the world’s largest universe of mutual fund and ETFs.

The STAR initiative is the collaboration between industry bodies Criterion and TeX, aimed at improving the speed of transfer across the investment, pensions and savings markets. STAR is supported by the FCA, The Pensions Regulator and the Department of Work and Pensions, and is the only cross-industry solution to improve transfer times. It brings together platforms, pension providers, asset managers and service providers, to put in place service level agreements to ensure quick, efficient and predictable transfers and re-registration for customers. 

“We are delighted that Allfunds has shown their support for STAR which continues to grow. The initiative has galvanised the industry to create long-term solutions to improve the customer experience of transferring pensions, savings and investments between companies, by setting transfer targets, measuring each firm’s performance against a good practice framework, accrediting firms and publishing results. STAR aims to become the single, authoritative source of transfer data on how firms are performing. It will publish a quarterly industry index to help industry participants benchmark their own performance and provide transparency for consumers. This will work hand-in-hand with an annual accreditation scheme of bronze, silver and gold, so that performance can be evidenced, rewarded and improvements encouraged.”

Andrew Marker, Head of Retail Pensions, Vanguard and STAR Chair

The Implementation Phase of the Initiative started in March 2020, to allow the members to agree an approach to deliver STAR Reporting and an opportunity to discuss change requests and common challenges they may face.

“With a broad cross-section of the financial services industry signed up to STAR, momentum is growing, and it will be increasingly beneficial for companies to join the initiative, both on operational and competitive grounds. It will also give investors and customers confidence in the transfer process.”

Andrew Marker, Head of Retail Pensions, Vanguard and STAR Chair

“STAR is a win-win opportunity for organisations, not only improving operations for the benefit of customers but increasing their efficiencies and saving money in the process. We look forward to making an active contribution to this important industry initiative.”

Simon Shapland, Country Head UK & Ireland, Allfunds

The FCA, The Pensions Regulator and the Department of Work and Pensions (and ABI, IA) continue to support STAR’s aims and are observers at the Steering Group. The FCA has publicly stated that they will carry out a review of progress in 2022 and will consider taking forward further action if consumers’ experience of the switching process does not continue to improve. In 2022, the FCA expect to be able to see the impact of the implementation. During September, four of the leading platforms – Aegon, Fidelity, Hargreaves Lansdown and Standard Life – contacted their fund groups requesting they support the STAR Transfers & Re-Registration initiative.

Notes

For further information please contact:

Matthew Dransfield
Commercial and Marketing Director
Criterion
0773 765 0010
media@criterion.org.uk

About STAR

STAR was created as a collaboration between Criterion and TeX, combining the industry-reach, unique strengths, experience and shared ambition of the two not-for-profit organisations.

Criterion was formed for the industry in July 2017, as an independent, not-for-profit industry body providing Standards and Governance services. It was originally part of Origo Services Ltd and has been publishing process and integration standards for over 25 years. Criterion is uniquely positioned to facilitate and drive cross-industry engagement, helping organisations achieve higher levels of collaboration, reduce costs and achieve better outcomes for their consumers.

TeX is a not-for-profit organisation which works with the industry to ensure that the maximum benefit is provided to all members. This new company is financially independent from TISA but benefits from being linked to the TISA brand through name, the expertise provided by the two corporate entity directorships and the administrative support provided by TISA.

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SERVICING AGREEMENT

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1. APPLICANT COVERED BY THIS REGISTRATION.
Please note this registration will not be processed if Step 1 has not been completed.
If your organisation is acting only as an affiliate, you do not need to complete Step 2.
2a. CHOOSE YOUR BRAND
STAR manages the administration of third-party access to the portal, rather than the member firm. This allows for a smoother transition for the member firm and allowing immediate access to the supplier to submit MI on their behalf. STAR will hold an approved list of users per supplier, which will be allocated to your account at the point of registration. This ensures each ‘external’ user has the same access across all their client accounts. Supplier access is restricted and they do not have any ability to see any company information for any client other than what they submit on your behalf. You as the member control access for any other users within your organisation. We will include a more detailed description about the user access on your welcome email and it is clearly defined as part of the User Guide.
STAR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR FIRST BRAND
This person will be the main contact for all notices and other formal communications under this agreement and will be responsible for the administration of the members portal access (including without limitation the providing, updating and removing of authorised User access to the portal during the Term).
2b.
STAR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR THE SECOND BRAND
This person will be the main contact for all notices and other formal communications under this agreement and will be responsible for the administration of the members portal access (including without limitation the providing, updating and removing of authorised User access to the portal during the Term).
2c.
STAR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR THE THIRD BRAND
This person will be the main contact for all notices and other formal communications under this agreement and will be responsible for the administration of the members portal access (including without limitation the providing, updating and removing of authorised User access to the portal during the Term).
2d.
STAR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR THE FOURTH BRAND
This person will be the main contact for all notices and other formal communications under this agreement and will be responsible for the administration of the members portal access (including without limitation the providing, updating and removing of authorised User access to the portal during the Term).
3. INVOICE INFORMATION
Invoices are sent by email as standard, if a printed invoice is required please note the address and your requirements in the additional information section.
4. DECLARATION
Before we can process your Brand Registration a STAR Servicing Agreement needs to be signed. Your signatory must be duly authorised for and on behalf of the organisation named in this application.
We only require one signed STAR Servicing Agreement which will cover all brands that you wish to register. Upon completion of this form we will check our records to ensure an agreement hasn't already been signed, if so a new contract will not be sent to your signatory.
STAR will email the servicing contract to the signatory email address (provided below) through our electronic platform Yoti. This declaration must be signed in order for your application to complete, once we receive the signed agreement we will instruct our finance department to issue your invoice.

Application submitted successfully

Thank you for applying to join the STAR accreditation scheme. We will endeavour to respond as soon as possible using the contact information you’ve provided to us.