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STAR 2024 Accreditations

Press Release

2024 STAR accreditations announced

10 April 2024


STAR, the industry award scheme designed to combat delays in electronic transfer times, has published the 2024 accreditations. The initiative awarded 37 brands with accreditations – an increase of 16% from last year.

Transfer delays are all too common in this sector, causing frustration amongst customers, cost and effort, and potential loss of reputational damage for firms. The STAR initiative was created to recognise and award firms that are trying to improve transfer times – these are the firms that have signed up to STAR and are submitting Management Information (MI), fostering industry transparency, and demonstrating that they have taken steps to address process issues.

STAR rewards good transfer performance with bronze, silver, and gold accreditations across four categories (ISA/GIA, Personal Pensions SIPP & SSAS, Occupational Pensions and Asset Managers).

STAR was set up by two independent organisations that operate as not-for-profits, Criterion and TeX, and is one of the most extensive cross-industry collaborations in the financial services industry.

The initiative is particularly important when considering the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Consumer Duty rules, which laid out rules to avoid causing foreseeable harm to customers and supporting customers to pursue their financial objectives. Firms must demonstrate to the FCA that they are abiding by these rules, with the FCA enforcing that if firms are not part of the STAR initiative they will come under increased scrutiny.

"STAR is doing important work to drive good practice and transparency across the industry. The two accreditations we've gained are a great reflection of the significant investment in service we've already made across the group. They will spur us on to continue to focus on and invest in service, of which timely transfers are a key part."

Julie Gawthorpe, Operations Director, Wealthtime

Andrew Marker, STAR Chair commenting, said:

“I am proud of how far the STAR initiative has come in the years of accrediting firms. This year, it has seen a significant increase in organisations being accredited, which is reflective of the FCA’s Consumer Duty rules and organisations recognising that improving transfers is key to not only fulfilling these rules, but also driving their own success. We commend the firms that have taken proactive steps to participate in STAR. It signifies their willingness to be transparent, their dedication to improving transfer times and ultimately, enhance the customer experience.”

Andrew Marker, Head of Retail Pensions, Vanguard and STAR Steering Group Chair

There are 80 organisations participating in STAR in various states of readiness and this year, 37 brands were accredited.

STAR accreditations are based on several factors. One area of good performance can’t outweigh the poor performance in another. It is a balanced approach, and awards are thoroughly checked before they are given to an organisation. STAR accreditations are measured on a range of key performance indicators (KPIs) not only on the overall transfer time, as there are also a lot of mitigating factors to consider when reviewing the overall performance of an organisation.

STAR concluded the best way to fairly judge an organisation was to set up a points-based metric system with an organisation being scored on several key areas such as:

  • The time taken to complete the key stages of the electronic transfer journey.
  • How they communicate with their customers on that journey.

Full details of the accreditations are available on our website. 

Click here

Notes

For further information please contact:

Matthew Dransfield
Commercial and Marketing Director
Criterion
0773 765 0010
media@criterion.org.uk

About STAR

STAR was created as a collaboration between Criterion and TeX, combining the industry-reach, unique strengths, experience and shared ambition of the two not-for-profit organisations.

Criterion was formed for the industry in July 2017, operating as a not-for-profit independent industry body providing Standards and Governance services. It was originally part of Origo Services Ltd and has been publishing process and integration standards for 30 years. Criterion is uniquely positioned to facilitate and drive cross-industry engagement, helping organisations achieve higher levels of collaboration, reduce costs and achieve better outcomes for their consumers.

TeX is a not-for-profit organisation which works with the industry to ensure that the maximum benefit is provided to all members. This new company is financially independent from TISA but benefits from being linked to the TISA brand through name, the expertise provided by the two corporate entity directorships and the administrative support provided by TISA.

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© 2024 CT Holdings and Services Limited (CTHS), a joint venture between TISA Exchange Limited and Criterion Tec Limited.

All rights reserved. Company number: 11700872.

SERVICING AGREEMENT

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1. APPLICANT COVERED BY THIS REGISTRATION.
Please note this registration will not be processed if Step 1 has not been completed.
If your organisation is acting only as an affiliate, you do not need to complete Step 2.
2a. CHOOSE YOUR BRAND
STAR manages the administration of third-party access to the portal, rather than the member firm. This allows for a smoother transition for the member firm and allowing immediate access to the supplier to submit MI on their behalf. STAR will hold an approved list of users per supplier, which will be allocated to your account at the point of registration. This ensures each ‘external’ user has the same access across all their client accounts. Supplier access is restricted and they do not have any ability to see any company information for any client other than what they submit on your behalf. You as the member control access for any other users within your organisation. We will include a more detailed description about the user access on your welcome email and it is clearly defined as part of the User Guide.
STAR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR FIRST BRAND
This person will be the main contact for all notices and other formal communications under this agreement and will be responsible for the administration of the members portal access (including without limitation the providing, updating and removing of authorised User access to the portal during the Term).
2b.
STAR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR THE SECOND BRAND
This person will be the main contact for all notices and other formal communications under this agreement and will be responsible for the administration of the members portal access (including without limitation the providing, updating and removing of authorised User access to the portal during the Term).
2c.
STAR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR THE THIRD BRAND
This person will be the main contact for all notices and other formal communications under this agreement and will be responsible for the administration of the members portal access (including without limitation the providing, updating and removing of authorised User access to the portal during the Term).
2d.
STAR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR THE FOURTH BRAND
This person will be the main contact for all notices and other formal communications under this agreement and will be responsible for the administration of the members portal access (including without limitation the providing, updating and removing of authorised User access to the portal during the Term).
3. INVOICE INFORMATION
Invoices are sent by email as standard, if a printed invoice is required please note the address and your requirements in the additional information section.
4. DECLARATION
Before we can process your Brand Registration a STAR Servicing Agreement needs to be signed. Your signatory must be duly authorised for and on behalf of the organisation named in this application.
We only require one signed STAR Servicing Agreement which will cover all brands that you wish to register. Upon completion of this form we will check our records to ensure an agreement hasn't already been signed, if so a new contract will not be sent to your signatory.
STAR will email the servicing contract to the signatory email address (provided below) through our electronic platform Yoti. This declaration must be signed in order for your application to complete, once we receive the signed agreement we will instruct our finance department to issue your invoice.

Application submitted successfully

Thank you for applying to join the STAR accreditation scheme. We will endeavour to respond as soon as possible using the contact information you’ve provided to us.