Transparency Benchmarking Service

Costs  •  Governance  •  Performance •  Responsible Investing  

A Roadmap for Funds to Improve Transparency

Pension funds and other asset owners worldwide are striving to adopt higher transparency and disclosure standards for the benefit of their stakeholders. Where is your fund in this journey? More importantly, how will you keep up with industry best practices?

With mounting pressure and scrutiny from media, regulators, boards, peers, and the public to improve public disclosures, the industry is speeding up the implementation of transparency best practices for the benefit of their beneficiaries, stakeholders, and ultimately: the world.
Transparency is a critical practice that impacts the whole organization. From communicating how organizations create value for stakeholders, to the disclosure of critical governance, performance, cost and responsible investment factors; transparency remains at the heart of everything an organization does.

Transparency Matters

Far beyond the moral imperative that recognizes transparency “is the right thing to do” there is plenty of evidence that shows how greater transparency leads to better outcomes, including:

  • Improved decision making. Transparency and accountability go hand in hand.
  • Clarity of purpose that comes from simplifying and communicating complex issues.
  • Improved relationships with a broad spectrum of stakeholders including beneficiaries, plan sponsors, regulators, suppliers, and concerned citizens.
  • Improved stewardship. After all, management’s duty is to do their best to the benefit of their stakeholders.

    • "Trust is a critically important success factor. Transparency builds trust. Transparency is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do."

    - Mike Heale, CEM Benchmarking

    To support asset owners in this goal, CEM has created a Transparency Benchmark. This is a strategic tool that helps funds speed up the implementation of transparency best practices and builds a great foundation for transparency leadership in our industry.

    How does the Transparency Benchmark work?

    The CEM Transparency Benchmark is a comprehensive assessment that covers major impact areas and consider critical goals in your transparency journey. It will help you:

    Get a third-party
    Transparency Assessment
    Demonstrate
    Transparency Efforts
    Identify Gaps for
    Improvements
    Implement Best
    Practices

    Across Four Major Strategic Impact Areas

    The CEM Transparency Benchmark provides insights into four impact areas.

    Costs

    Governance and
    Organization

    Performance 


    Responsible
    Investing (RI)

    Specifically, the CEM Transparency Benchmark will help your fund:

    1. See and compare your transparency results:

    Get a custom comparison report that ranks your fund against 75 leading funds from 15 countries, across four major impact areas; Costs, Performance, Governance, and Responsible Investing; and 188 key metrics.
    15
    Countries
    75
    Funds
    4
    Impact Areas
    188
    Key Metrics

    Governance and Organization
    34 disclosure elements scored

    • Structure and Mission
    • Board Competencies and Qualifications
    • Compensation and Human Resources
    • Organizational Strategy

    Performance
    43 disclosure elements scored

    • Returns and Value-added: Time Periods & Clarity
    • Risk Policies and Measures
    • Portfolio Structure and Explanation of Results
    • Member Service Goals, Plans, and Levels*
    • Funded Status and Related Discussion

    Costs
    57 disclosure elements scored

    • Total Fund Level
    • Asset Class or Investment Option Level
    • External Management Fees
    • Transaction Costs
    • Member Service and Administration Costs*

    Responsible Investing
    54 disclosure elements scored

    • Responsible Investing Governance
    • Organizational Framework and Reporting
    • Implementation: Exclusion; Active Ownership; Impact Investing; ESG Integration

    2. Demonstrate impact areas where you excel and identify improvement opportunities.

    Our report helps you demonstrate areas where you excel; identify gaps in your disclosures; and highlight improvements possibilities in your journey towards transparency excellence.

    3. Learn best practices:

    Get a comprehensive collection of transparency best practices with clear examples that show you how you can improve your disclosures.

    4. Ensure that you are a transparency leader:

    Far beyond scores and rankings, CEM’s Transparency Benchmark helps you set a solid foundation toward excellence in transparency.

    5. Support from the world’s leader in pension fund benchmarking:

    • CEM reviews, compares, and scores your public disclosures.
    • No survey or work on your part.
    • Interactive meetings to discuss your transparency results and improvement possibilities.
    • We guarantee confidentiality of your Transparency Benchmark results.
    • Objective, independent, third-party assessment from the world’s leader in pension fund benchmarking
    The journey to improve transparency doesn’t have to be complex…
    And transparency benchmarking is the first step.

    What to do next?

    If you want to discover how CEM’s Transparency Benchmark can help your organization improve transparency, inquire about our Transparency Report. Click the button below and fill out the form on the next page. Our team will contact you shortly to discuss. Hope to meet you soon. Learn More