When getting ready to run my first London Marathon I soon realised that if I had any chance of completing the 26.2 miles around London, I needed to be prepared.

But what did being prepared look like? Having never been a runner, this was a whole new world to me. Luckily, there are clear parallels between the adviser review process and preparing for a marathon.

The importance of getting the right advice

The first piece of advice I received was I needed to have the right trainers. I had a pair which had served me very well for my occasional trips to a gym class over many years and did the job just fine. But were they the best trainers to get me over the London finish line?  

You need to ask the same question of your current advisers. Are they the best options for your scheme? Does their advice suit the style of your trustee board? Are they providing you with good value for money?

The Pensions Regulator expects trustees to periodically review their pension scheme advisers to make sure they’re performing against documented service standards or objectives. For some schemes this is normal practice. But for others this is something they haven’t yet considered.

There are many approaches you can take to reviewing your advisers – from an online assessment of your current advisers, a light touch benchmarking exercise to a full tender process (or something in the middle). My visit to the running shop didn’t result in me buying the most expensive or the cheapest trainers. But I walked away content that I had purchased the ones best suited to my needs, and would give me a very good chance of completing my challenge. I still had a 16 week training plan to complete, but getting the right trainers was a good first step!

The same could be said for getting you to your pension scheme’s long term objective. Of course there are many challenges in your way, but a good first step is having the right advisers in place to provide you with the right advice to help you on your journey to meet your scheme objectives.

Considering your scheme’s journey

After I left the shop, I spent the next 6 months training in my faithful Saucony running shoes and was reluctant to change them. They had never given me blisters and remarkably I still had all 10 toenails – if you know you know – so why would I risk replacing my trainers again as I embarked on the biggest part of my challenge, the race itself?

For some schemes, changing advisers as you reach the final stages of the scheme’s life, may be something you do not want to consider, and that may be the right decision. But with all the preparatory work and specialist advice that comes with various endgame options, there could be advisers in the market who can better meet your needs and successfully get you to your endgame within your agreed timeframe.

I have heard many clients throughout my years in the pensions industry who have been reluctant to change their advisers because they are trusted, loyal, and have always done a good job, just like the Saucony shoes I’d trained in. But the question remains, at a crucial point in your scheme’s journey could there be other advisers who could deliver the same level of service or better, for better value for money? 

I hesitated with buying new trainers before race day, as so many people had advised me ‘nothing new on race day.’ But, ultimately, I knew the shoes I had been training in for 6 months could perform better, so I replaced them.

Maybe you don’t want to replace your existing advisers, especially if you have excellent relationships with them. Existing advisers often know you and your schemes extremely well, the importance of which should not be underestimated. However, completing a feedback assessment of your current advisers or a light touch benchmarking exercise, may be all you need to reaffirm that you have the right set of advisers in place, providing a good level of service and providing good value for money.

But what this exercise may also result in, is a better service from your existing advisers at a better fee. Or reveal the need for a change.

‘Give it a go, what do you have to lose?’ was my mantra when taking on the challenge of running the iconic London Marathon. Despite being daunting at first, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

With the same frame of mind, I would ask you to give some thought as to when you last reviewed your advisers and if now is the right time. It’s an important decision that you make on behalf of your members.

If you would like any information on adviser reviews, please get in contact with Katie Clegg, or one of the Adviser Review team.