Adviser and Provider Consulting

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Having the right advisers and providers around you is fundamental to achieving your strategy.

A regular review of your advisers and providers, can help to ensure you are receiving a service that supports your objectives, and you are getting value for money.

Our broad knowledge of the market and the suppliers helps our clients make confident decisions about who to partner with and makes an otherwise daunting process manageable in an efficient and effective manner.

In a world of gate keepers and ringmasters, we are facilitators helping you build relationships. Our independence means we can give you unconstrained advice to deliver an outcome that is right for you and your members.

Advisers and Providers

We can help you review, select, contract with, and move to a new adviser or provider, with the confidence that you have explored what is out there in the market and are achieving value for money.

Our market research means we can help find an adviser or provider that is the best fit for you, and we have a wealth of data-based insights that we can bring to your decision making. Our experience supporting Trustees and Sponsors means we know the right questions to ask and the pitfalls to look out for.

Reviewing your current adviser/ provider

Whether your service is currently delivered by an in-house team or by a third-party, we can benchmark your current arrangements to make sure you're getting value for money. Giving you an independent contractual and commercial analysis report.

We run a triennial cost-benchmarking survey for DB schemes. Project Mercury was established in 2014 and following its success has since seen an increase in participants. The benefits of Project Mercury are ever-increasing as longer-term trends are identified with every new iteration.

We can help give you comfort that your services and the fees you are paying reflect your strategic aims and value for money and give clear recommendations where they do not.

A new provider isn't the answer for everyone, but when that is needed, we're on hand to facilitate the tender process and oversee the project to change your supplier. We follow tried and tested processes, adapted to make sure that we identify the attributes and services that you are looking for.

Improving your current service

If you're having trouble with your current adviser or provider or are worried there may be skeletons hidden in the cupboard, we can help you get to the heart of the challenges and define and implement a plan to improve and resolve the issues.

Delivering real value and driving efficiencies works best with a long-term partnership. We can provide ongoing contract management, along with service oversight and reporting.

Oversight of key adviser projects

As schemes are faced with more and more projects to complete, managing and overseeing these can become a challenge. Our experience working with clients of all sizes allows us to manage all of the relevant parties to ensure they are pulling in the same direction for the scheme to deliver the ultimate goal.

Given the number of legislative and strategic activities schemes are and will be required to tackle over the coming years, it is important to ensure all of your projects are joined up. Data is, and will be a fundamental part of each project, so ensuring these are not tackled separately will make your projects run more efficiently.

Our independence helps us to keep advisers/ providers working together across the range of projects you may have on the go at any point, whilst keeping future projects in mind to help deliver efficiencies where possible.

Whether it is a single project, or multiple over a longer period, we can help to keep things moving.

Take a look at how we can help further down the page or download our Administration Consulting Guide by clicking on the orange button below.

Administration Consulting Guide

It's been a busy time for pension schemes and lots of activity around the General Code. Administration is central to the General Code... our admin in focus will share knowledge, insights and guidance on how to make sure your administration is working as best as possible. Click the button below to see the full admin campaign.

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Ian McQuade

CEO

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Jo Fellowes

Director

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Claire Wallis

Consultant

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Pamjit Virdi

Consultant

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Robert Plumb

Senior Associate

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Mark Dallaway

Senior Associate

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Antonella Sferrino

Associate

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Liza Sinclair

Senior Consultant

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Barry Mack

Director

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We engaged Muse, in advance of our administration contract renewal, to review the service and contractual terms and ensure we received overall value for money from our third party administrator. I was delighted with the outcome and the material improvement we achieved.

Former Head of Pensions, Vodafone

It was a pleasure to work with Muse on our Administrator selection process. As we were outsourcing for the first time, which is particularly challenging, their insight into the market and the administrators we saw, guiding us through the minefield of selection, gave us confidence that we were making the most informed decision. Muse’s process was pragmatic and effective, always considerate of the circumstances of the in-house team. We continued to rely on Muse’s support particularly throughout the contracting stage where their knowledge & experience proved invaluable as well as the transition stage; they challenged the administrator and asked the questions we didn’t know to ask. I would have no hesitation in recommending them.

Trustee Director, Molins UK Pension Fund Trustee Limited

We have very much valued working with Muse in a review of our pension administration arrangements. The Muse team was incredibly helpful in helping us prepare for the review, in guiding us through the various assessment stages, and in helping us to get to the right decision for our Schemes. The documentation produced during the process, from the RfP itself, through to the reporting in support of the decision making process, has been first class. I would like to offer my sincere thanks and gratitude for all of the hard work, commitment and support. The Muse team were an absolute delight to work in partnership with, on what could potentially have been a difficult programme.

Group Head of Pensions & Benefits, DMGT

It was great working with Muse and if we undertake another review we will most definitely be in touch. We could not have got through this without Muse.

UK Group Pensions Manager, Total

Muse Advisory supported the Trustees through the process of reviewing their full service pension provider. They provided the subject matter expertise, and worked seamlessly alongside our in-house procurement team, to help us identify a high-quality solution that met both our technical and commercial requirements, delivering great value for the scheme and members, as well as the sponsor.

Group Financial Controller, Riverside

Muse helped us work with our administrator to deliver our transformation programme. They challenged them and asked questions we hadn’t considered. We wouldn’t have achieved the change we needed without the support and experience of the Muse team.

Pension Strategy Manager, CYBG plc

Muse were able to understand the different styles and requirements of our two Trustee Boards and guide them both through a process, which resulted in a robust decision having carefully considered the right sort of provider and the requirements of the service. Their insights into the market and broad understanding of the part covenant advice plays in integrated risk management was invaluable in evaluating the market, and their facilitated process helped maximise effective use of pensions staff and trustee time.

Pensions Operations Manager, ScottishPower and Manweb Pension Schemes

Muse helped us switch our administration provider. Their work included confirming the decision to change providers, identifying our requirements, facilitating the entire RfP process and then advising on commercial/ operational contractual matters. This was a significant project for us. It was completed successfully on time and on budget. Muse’s advice, professionalism and efficiency was excellent throughout, and their guidance and expertise was both reassuring and very much appreciated.

Trustee Chair, Aliaxis UK Defined Benefit Pension Scheme

With the support of Muse's professional team our recent FM selection project delivered as expected and so much more. Muse was able to translate our scheme's unique characteristics and ambitions in to specific and practical service requirements. This meant that we were able to select the best fit provider; a firm who then already understood us and was well matched to our scheme's requirements.

Chair of Trustees, Northrop Grumman UK Pension Scheme

Muse supported us with our transition between administrators. Muse challenged both the incoming and incumbent administrator and made sure we asked the right questions and had robust governance around the transition. They provided significant input into our contract negotiations, ensuring that we benefited from their experience of the market. The acceptance criteria that they developed collaboratively with all stakeholders helped ensure we could hold the administrator to account for delivery. Muse are a great team to work with, and they helped us establish a solid foundation for a strong relationship with our administration partner.

Head of Staff Pensions Management, Prudential Staff Pension Scheme

We appointed Muse through a competitive tender to support our actuarial selection process as a result of the thoroughness of their approach, their deep knowledge of the market and value for money. Their support was invaluable in helping us to concentrate on what would make the difference for us from our Actuary so that we could make the selection from some very strong candidates. The team was flexible and approachable; they managed the project for us professionally to ensure that the candidate firms were well briefed and engaged with the project. Muse played an important part in enabling us to select a firm best suited to our requirements and ways of working.

Trustee Secretary, States of Jersey Pension Schemes

We selected Muse to help us review our DC consultant, largely because of their in-depth market knowledge and well-run selection process. Stacy used her own DC experience to help us define our requirements, and worked well with our Trustees and in-house team.

Pension Scheme Secretary, Aviva Staff Pension Scheme

Muse run very bespoke, organised and professional selection exercises. We enjoy working with Stacy and the team as their independence encourages sharing of information and a strong working relationship.

Head of DC Sales, Legal & General

We appointed Muse because of their depth and breadth of knowledge of the pension administration market and their independence. Having an adviser who has such level of experience is critical. Muse helped ensure that the Trustees were confident in the decision they took when selecting their third party administrator. Many implementation projects over-promise and under-deliver. Muse provided expert guidance, alongside our own internal project management function and the third party administrator, to ensure a successful implementation that delivered the planned level of automation from day 1. I would confidently recommend Muse Advisory to other Trustee Boards.

Trustee Director, RBS Pension Trustee Limited

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