Institute of Retirement Funds Africa announces opening of its prestigious annual awards programme

The Institute of Retirement Funds Africa’s (IRFA) Best Practices Industry Awards programme has evolved considerably since starting out as an incentive for recognizing retirement fund communication practices 34 years ago. It has become acknowledged as the arbiter of excellence in the sector over the years of its existence and has expanded to include 6 areas of excellence as well as an award for entrants who meet the criteria in all categories. The rigorous programme ranks against local and international benchmarks and is endorsed and well supported by the retirement sector in South Africa as well as north of our borders. In announcing the opening for entries for the 2021 awards at its annual conference held virtually on the 19th and 20th November, IRFA President Enos Ngutshane noted “Our aim in presenting the programme has always remained consistent - to surface and share industry best practices for the benefit of members of retirement funds, trustees and management boards. The programme is underpinned by benchmarking and research, which determines awards categories, judging processes and criteria. Entrants in our Best Practices Industry Awards Programme showcase their achievements and obtain valuable feedback from industry and subject-matter experts and thought leaders.” Programme Chair, IRFA Vice-President and multiple local and international award winner, Anthony Williams endorses these sentiments “2021 is the year for retirement funds and service providers to the sector to test their strategies and programmes against acknowledged best practices and be recognized in the industry and by their peers. Williams goes on to note that entrants may enter in the categories of stakeholder engagement, financial management and reporting, investment practices, trustee development, governance and transformation and “of course, the ultimate accolade our Gold Standard award for excellence in all 6 categories.” The entry closing date is the 8th February 2021 and winners will be recognized at IRFA’s virtual conference to be held in March, 2021. Williams concludes “the entry process is online and seamless. Detailed instructions are available on the entry site at https://irfa.awardsplatform.com/