IPE European Pension Funds Awards 2012

COPENHAGEN, Thursday 29th November 2012

The IPE Awards head North!

In 2012 the IPE European Pension Funds Awards will head North, taking the event to Scandinavia for the first time. On November 29th, IPE will host the twelfth gathering of what has become the must-attend annual event of the European pensions community.

Not only has the IPE Awards grown in stature and prestige over the intervening years but it is now recognised as the biggest annual coming together of pan-European pension funds in Europe. Last year over 600 delegates joined us in Brussels.

The IPE Awards are based on a very fundamental theme – the Search for Excellence among European pension funds. 

Over 35 IPE Awards will be presented to those funds which have performed in an exemplary way in some area of pensions practice (more details). They are awarded at a Country or Regional (in the case of CEE countries) level plus Themed Awards for success in a specialist area at European level. The winners are then judged to find the Best Pension Fund in Europe..

We have always believed it is essential for the IPE Awards to be presented at an event to which all pension funds in Europe are invited. Since our first event in 2001 we reimburse pension fund executives towards their travel costs and arrange their hotel accommodation .

Over the years we have developed the IPE Pensions Seminar held on the day of the IPE Awards, where the high level issues of the industry are discussed and pension funds are able to network with their colleagues from across Europe (more details).

To win an IPE Award is a real achievement which brings a number of benefits as some of our previous winners testify above. These comments show there is nothing like being part of a winning team and the resulting boost or receiving an Award can give to all directly involved in the fund.

But winning can also have a tremendous impact on other fund participants and stakeholders, such as pensioners, contributing members, pension fund staff and fund sponsors, to demonstrate that the pension fund they are actively involved with has been singled out for recognition.

The benefits of winning can be wider, as the result of obtaining an award at a European-wide event can have a real impact and significance at a local level. Bringing home an IPE Award can mean a step change in the recognition coming from your own marketplace.

The judging of the IPE Awards occurs at Country, Themed and European levels, with different panels of judges for each country and specialist area. All in all, up to 100 different judges can be involved in the process. Our judges usually come from the pensions and investment consultants.

Lastly, we have streamlined the entry procedure with our online system and you also  have the opportunity to work with one of our journalists to help prepare your entry.

2011 FACTS

  • 600 attendees 
  • 282 pension fund executives / capital owners 
  • 32 countries represented 

What do our winners say?

  • Tapiola Pension in Finland
    "Winning the Best In-house Investment Team Award was a great recognition for Tapiola Pension, especially for our successful investment team, as well as for our own independent investment policy. The Award was widely recognized by our employees, board members, customers and media as well. By winning this Award, we received a great deal of interest in our investment strategy from our stakeholders."
    Hanna Hiidenpalo CIO Tapiola Pension
     
  • De Eendragt Pensioen in Netherlands
    "Proud' is the best word for how all our stakeholders felt on winning the Best European Pension Fund Award 2008. Winning this award for a small organization confirms that you have done something very special and we obtained many positive reactions from the Dutch pensions community. The IPE Award was displayed on our website and we designed a special cover with transparent paper for our annual 2008 report. The fact that the awards are judged by professional insiders is seen as an important approval of the quality of De Eendragt."
    Philip Menco CIO De Enedragt Pensioen
     
  • Environment Agency in the UK
    "Winning both the Best SRI and Best Pension Fund in the UK has lent additional credence to our investment strategy and its promotion with our members, sponsor and industry peers. We believe winning such prestigious awards also helps us attract the best managers for our mandates - leading to better returns for our fund"
    Howard Pearce Head of Environment Agency Pension Fund
     
  • ERAFP in France
    "For a young pension scheme as ERAFP being considered as the Best Pension Fund in France and the Best ESG Pension Fund in Europe by such a reference in the pensions community as IPE is an incentive for the trustees to maintain their deeply rooted commitment to responsible investment and a source of motivation for ERAFP employees in their day-to-day efforts to implement it"
    Philippe Desfosses CEO ERAFP
     
  • PensPlan in Italy
    "In this world full of uncertainties, winning the Best Small European Pension Fund Award meant we obtained an ‘expert opinion', which confirmed we are on the right track with our investment strategy. Since image and trust are crucial in our business, the Award helps us to increase them both, as well as the self-confidence of the trustees"
    Michael Atzwanger Managing Director and Michel Thomas CIO PensPlan
     
  • Construction Workers Pension Scheme in Ireland
    "Your awards are a great contribution to the industry. People are too often hard at work without the acknowledgment of their peers. So the awards are a very good idea. We had a lot of fun and satisfaction when receiving our awards and letting the pension industry at home and abroad learn more about what we do."
    Pat Ferguson, CEO of the CWPS
     
  • Lansforsakringar in Sweden
    "Our members, employees and boards are very pleased that Lansforsakringar once again won the Award for Best Swedish Pension Fund. It is great for all of us at the fund that IPE acknowledges our work for efficient risk management and our strong results over the years. We also very much appreciated receiving the Special Award for Exemplary Results"
    Gustav Karner Chief Financial Officer Länsförsäkringar 
     
  • Pensioensfonds KBC in Belgium
    "Winning the Award for Best European Pension Fund had a big impact of the staff and board of our pension fund: We all were very proud! Moreover, the fact that a pension fund from a small country like Belgium could actually beat the 'pension giants' from the Netherlands and the UK also meant a lot to the Belgian pension fund community"
    Edwin Meysmans Bestuurder-ditrecteur Pensioenfonds KBC
     
  • PNO Media in the Netherlands
    "We are very proud to win the Best Pension Fund in the Netherlands Award. This is a special award for our PNO colleagues, who have worked very hard in this difficult and volatile year. This Award is also an encouragement to us to extend and further develop our policy of responsible investment. We received congratulations from colleague pension funds, insurance companies, consulting firms and representative associations such as VB"
    Leo Witkamp, Director Pension Fund PNO Media
     
  • Industriens Pensionforsikring in Denmark
    "This year's Award was our fifth and we tried to get as much positive reaction as possible on receiving these Awards. A press release is sent out and we have been mentioned a lot in the press, both immediately and in the weeks following. We highlight it on our homepage. It is very important to our board and sponsors, as well as to our employees and in particular the investment team. The winning of many Awards by Danish funds is also good for the reputation of our pension industry"
    Jan Ostergaard CIO Industriens Pensionsforsikring