…updates members on schemes’ performance
Petra has held a two-day interactive virtual session with members of its various schemes dubbed Annual Scheme Members’ Conference. The aim of the conference is to update customers on the performance of Evergreen, Petra Advantage (Tier 2), and Petra Opportunity (Tier 3) Pension Schemes for the year ending, December 31, 2021.
The virtual meeting brought together the trustees, auditors, regulator, and scheme members of all Petra-sponsored Master Trust Schemes (MTS). The maiden event was attended by over a thousand participants who we updated on the performance of the funds and were given the opportunity to have their questions answered by the trustees of their respective schemes.
Talking about the performance of the Evergreen Pension Scheme, Kofi Fynn, the MD of Petra Trust(Petra) and Chairman of the scheme, stated that the scheme ended the year with a net return of 18.55%.
This performance, he said, was better than the average 91-day treasury bill return of 14.1%. He also reiterated Petra’s commitment to ensuring that customers always get a competitive return on their investment and that funds outgrow their real value to ensure a stress-free retirement.
Derrick Lartey, the head of Portfolio Management also took scheme members through the financial reports and intimated that the scheme performed impressively, outplaying the average inflation rate by over 8%.
Presenting the initiatives Petra has taken in the past 10 years, Judy Chinery, Head, Customer Experience; and Kennedy Smith, Head, Relationship Management, encouraged customers to use the self-service channels like the members portal and the *447*70# USSD code.
They also reassured customers of the brand’s promise of delivering world-class pension and financial services, as well as partnering individuals and firms to achieve more. Other initiatives include the achieve investment app, the achieve payroll software and online payment channels.
The auditors for the scheme and a representative from the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) also addressed the participants and assured them of the schemes’ adherence to regulations, guidelines, directives and accounting principles. The regulator, however, through its representative Mr. Amartey Vondee, urged Petra to extend its coverage into the huge informal sector which currently remains untapped.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Chris Hammond, the deputy managing director of Petra and Chairman of Petra Advantage Pension Scheme (Tier 2) and Petra Opportunity Pensions Scheme (Tier 3), assured customers of the company’s commitment to growing and protecting the scheme members’ funds to ensure a worthwhile retirement.
He also expressed Petra’s deepest gratitude to all of its customers and clients. He further admonished workers and employers to take retirement and personal planning seriously. The panel also featured the trustees of the schemes including Charles Egan, Edward Botchway, Daphne Oppong, Kweku Osae Brenu, Eric Otoo, and Daniel Gyapanin. Going forward, the Scheme Members’ Conference is expected to be hosted annually.
