The Cost Transparency Initiative (CTI) has launched additional resources alongside its existing framework, and urged any remaining schemes and asset managers to adopt the standards.

The group reported strong industry uptake since its launch a year ago, with almost three quarters (74 per cent) of respondents in a recent Pension and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) survey stating they have a good level of awareness of CTI.

CTI stated that feedback from services providers had also demonstrated strong levels of take up of the framework from schemes ranging in size and structure.

The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) for instance, which represents 5.9 million members and £291bn in assets, has incorporated the CTI framework into its code of Transparency, and, as of 1 April 2020, all UK LGPS pension funds and pools now make use of CTI standard report.

Other pension schemes signed up to the framework include Nest, the National Grid UK Pension Scheme, RBS Group Pension Fund, Smart Pension, The People’s Pension and Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).

New resources now available through the initiative include a fiduciary management template, real estates guidance on completing the templates, and CTI mapping guidance for private equity investments.

Users will also benefit from additional reporting fields on the existing Liability Driven Templates, further FAQ guidance on timeline and expectations, and additional case studies and webinar resources.

However, the existing main account template, private equity template and user summary will all remain the same.

CTI chair, Mel Duffield, stated: “With three-quarters of pension schemes and consultants reporting a good level of awareness of the CTI and wide-spread take up from asset owners large and small, I am really pleased with the progress of this really important initiative to help investment managers and schemes report and understand their costs and deliver better value to savers.

“We are now entering a final push to encourage remaining schemes to adopt the templates and guidance and will continue to promote the benefits both savers and pension fund trustees’ can gain from their use.

“Over the rest of this year, the CTI Board’s Technical Expert Panel will continue to take forward and develop any additional resources and guidance, according to the needs of the industry.”

The CTI framework is a partnered initiative between the PLSA, the Investment Association (IA) and the Local Government Pension Scheme Advisory Board, and works to enable investment managers and asset owners to collect and compare costs and charges in a standardised form.

The CTI Board has kept in “close, ongoing contact” with the government , Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR), as well as other “external organisations”, to ensure the framework is kept current and “in step” with any policy developments.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), FCA, TPR and Trades Union Congress (TUC) also continue to hold “observer” status on the board of the CTI itself.

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