31 trustees at Dalriada become accredited by APPT

Dalriada Trustees (Dalriada) has put 31 professional trustees successfully through the new accreditation process operated by the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT). In total Dalriada employs 40 trustees, with a further 10 newer recruits also due to undergo the accreditation process. Its trustees come from a range of backgrounds including law, actuarial, pensions management, investment, insolvency and corporate finance, with the youngest being 28 and the oldest aged over 70.

The accreditation process has been introduced following The Pensions Regulator’s toughened stance on what was required to be a ‘professional’ trustee and its focus on improving governance standards across trustee boards.

The APPT opened for applications to its accreditation regime in April with the accreditation year to run from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021. Within this framework trustees must demonstrate their competency through two exams covering both technical and soft skills, as well as demonstrating that they are fit and proper, through criminal record and professional reference checks. Dalriada has nine fully accredited trustees with the remainder provisionally accredited (as a result of a short delay in holding the soft skills exam due to Covid-19).

Tom Lukic, chair at Dalriada Trustees, said: “The accreditation process is an important yardstick which provides assurance to employers and pension scheme members that a professional trustee has the required level of knowledge and skill to ensure good standards of governance.

“The role of a professional trustee has never been more important.  To be a trustee now requires full engagement and an up to date understanding of the changing regulatory landscape. As a firm we are committed to employing career trustees who come from all types of backgrounds and that combined experience helps us run pension scheme to the highest standards with a view to getting the best possible member outcomes.”

Dalriada has grown its team of professional trustees across the UK by 11 in the last year as the demand for experienced and knowledgeable trustees on boards grows. The firm is also looking to expand the team with recruiting additional professional trustees and through support roles over the coming year.