Fairheads was founded in 1925. That makes us one of the oldest independent financial services groups in the country.

Our umbrella trust business started in the late 1980s and we rapidly grew to be the largest independent service provider. In late 2008 we were the first company to get an administrator's 13b licence for beneficiary funds and the first also to register a beneficiary fund. We made significant input into the legislative process for beneficiary funds.

Come to our presentations on the Fairfund Trust and Fairfund Umbrella Beneficiary Fund. And stay for drinks and jazz afterwards…

The roadshows are being held in the major cities next week. We will report back on our flagship funds and open the floor for a discussion of industry issues.
If you did not receive an invitation for some reason, please click here for details of the dates and venues. If you have already got an invitation and have not yet responded, please do so as soon as possible. We look forward to seeing you.

Fairheads Benefit Services will have a stand as usual at the IRF Conference this year. The conference takes place from 4-6 September at the Durban International Convention Centre.

Last year we were delighted to be a joint winner for the Best Small Stand. The unusual stand was created out of a series of boxes depicting our beneficiaries. See the photos below.

Fairheads Benefit Services has been named Trust and Beneficiary Administrator of the Year at the Imbasa Yegolide Awards held in Gauteng on Monday night and hosted by the Principal Officers’ Association and Global Pensions.
This is the second year running that Fairheads has won the award which acknowledges professional excellence in the retirement fund industry.

The award submission focused on four key areas where Fairheads has led the industry, which are as follows:
• Investment strategy. Together with investment consultants Fairheads has developed an investment blending model which includes an annual reblend at member level depending on the member’s age, the amount of funds and the time horizon to termination. This model creates over 70 different permutations and combinations. It is effectively a life-stage model for beneficiary funds and umbrella trusts.
• Communication. In line with PF130 and the CPA and together with a member communication expert Fairheads has reviewed all its communication as an ongoing project. Major documents have been rewritten in plain English and Fairheads has produced a comprehensive member guide for members and guardians.
• Guardian workshops. In 2010 Fairheads held 26 workshops in Lesotho, Mozambique, KZN, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. These were attended by more than 1 500 guardians. Beneficiary funds were explained and queries attended to face to face. The guardian workshops will be held again later this year, with a few additional locations.
• Public/consumer education. We are building awareness of beneficiary funds among the general public.

Commenting on the award, Fairheads CEO Richard Krepelka said: “The industry in which we work fulfills a significant social function. The majority of requests for funds are related to education and so many thousands of children around the country are able to improve their chances in life. I would like to thank Fairheads staff and our clients for their contribution to making this award possible.”                          

We welcome the trustee education initiative by the Institute of Retirement Funds.

To show our support, we sponsored a trustee workshop on 16 March in Cape Town. The workshop was on challenges faced by trustees. It was clear that the industry has some way to go still in educating trustees about beneficiary funds. To read more about these challenges click here.