PIB Employee Benefits won the prestigious Firm of the Year Award, with Benefiz picking up the gong for the Best Small Firm at the Corporate Adviser Awards 2024, held last night in London.
The awards recognise excellence among advisers and providers in the workplace pensions and benefits sector. On the provider side Aviva was a big winner, taking home three separate awards, for Best Group Pension Provider, Best Provider Decumulation Proposition, and Best Default ESG Strategy for its My Future Focus default.
In the healthcare and protection categories Titan and Vitality both picked up two awards each. Titan, formerly Aspira Corporate Solutions, won Best Group Risk Adviser and Best Health & Wellbeing Solution, while Vitality took home the prize for Best Healthcare Provider and Best Health & Wellbeing Innovator.
Industry figures from across the benefits sector gathered at the London Hilton Bankside for the awards ceremony, hosted by comedian Hugh Dennis.
On the advisory side other winners included Barnett Waddingham, for Best Pensions Adviser and Sherwood Healthcare, for Best Healthcare Adviser.
In the pension sector Standard Life won the award for Best Master Trust while Fidelity took the prize for Ultimate Default Fund for its FutureWise default. When it came to investment expertise BNP Asset Management won the award for the Best ESG Asset Manager for the second year running while Natixis Investment Managers won Best DC Unlisted Asset Manager — a new award.
Zurich took home the prize for the Best Group risk Provider – the third year in the row it has won this prize, while Medicash won Best Cashplan Provider, for the fifth successive year.
Zest won the award for Best Employee Technology Platform, while Cushon won the award for best Financial Wellbeing Provider.
Elsewhere Sackers took home the prize for Best Pensions Law Firm and Independent Governance Group Best DC Independent Trustee.
Providers’ service propositions were also celebrated with the presentation of Five Star and Four Star trophies to top performers in the Corporate Adviser Service Ratings, decided by an independent satisfaction survey of over 100 advisers. This year both Standard Life and Royal London won Five Star awards for their service in the pensions sector; Canada Life won a Five Star award in the group risk sector, Vitality received this top rating in the healthcare sector and Medicash in the cash plan sector.
Judges were unable to judge the Best Sustainable Benefits Adviser category because of the low number of entrants. However, Corporate Adviser believes this is a growing area for advisers, and gave a Special Commendation to Benefiz, for a submission that showed a compelling commitment to sustainability in the delivery of benefits consultancy services.
Full details of the Corporate Adviser Service Ratings, alongside the special CA Awards Supplement, containing all the winners and photographs of the big night will come out with the July issue of Corporate Adviser.
ALL THE WINNERS AND HIGHLY COMMENDED FIRMS
Corporate Adviser Firm of the Year:
Winner: PIB Employee Benefits
Highly Commended: LCP
Corporate Adviser Small Firm of the Year
Winner: Benefiz
Highly Commended: Generation Employee Benefits, Wingate Benefit Solutions
Best Pensions Adviser
Winner: Barnett Waddingham
Highly Commended: LCP
Best Healthcare Adviser
Winner: Sherwood Healthcare
Best Group Risk Adviser
Winner: Titan
Highly Commended: Benefex
Best Employee Benefits Technology Platform
Winner: Zest
Highly Commended: Avantus
Best Health & Wellbeing Solution
Winner: Titan
Best Health & Wellbeing Innovator
Winner: Vitality
Highly Commended: Telus
Best Pensions Law Firm
Winner: Sackers
Best Decumulation Proposition
Winner: Aviva
Highly Commended: Mercer
Best Group Pensions Provider
Winner: Aviva
Highly Commended: Standard Life
Best Master Trust
Winner: Standard Life Master Trust
Highly Commended: Legal & General Mastertrust
Ultimate Default Fund
Winner: Fidelity – FutureWise
Best ESG Asset Manager
Winner: BNP Paribas Asset Management
Best Default ESG Strategy
Winner: Aviva My Future Focus
Highly Commended: L&G Target Date Funds (TDFs)
Best Financial Wellbeing Provider
Winner: Cushon
Best Cash Plan Provider
Winner: Medicash
Highly Commended: Health Shield
Best Healthcare Provider
Winner: Vitality
Highly Commended: Bupa
Best Group Risk Provider
Winner: Zurich
Highly Commended: Canada Life
Best DC Independent Trustee
Winner: Independent Governance Group (IGG)
PROVIDER SERVICE RATINGS
WORKPLACE PENSIONS
Five Stars
Royal London
Standard Life
Four Stars
Aviva
GROUP RISK
Five Stars
Canada Life
Four Stars
Unum
HEALTHCARE
Five Stars
Vitality
CASH PLANS
Five Stars
Medicash
Four Stars
Simplyhealth