Friends Provident has signed a long-term contract for the delivery of a new corporate platform with NZ.
The new partnership will provide Friends Provident with the capability to offer an enhanced workplace platform for its customers to be delivered during 2010.
The new market-leading platform will operate in conjunction with and complement Friends Provident's award winning New Generation Pensions (NGP) platform. Through the new technology, employers will be able to integrate benefit packages for their employees to include pension and non-pension products such as a corporate ISA.
Central to the new solutions will be an online trading facility that will enable funds to be transferred between different investment vehicles. Using this infrastructure, Friends Provident will deliver an investment platform for institutional clients, such as pension fund trustees, as well as an enhanced Group Self Invested Personal Pension and a corporate ISA. The platform will also contain advanced member engagement and financial education tools, and in the future will enable the delivery of an Individual Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP).
Simon Clamp managing director, UK at Friends Provident said: "The new contract we have negotiated with FNZ marks an exciting milestone for Friends Provident. Benefit consultants and employers are redefining their approach to corporate benefits in the work place - recognising that the future is much more than simply providing pension products. Having researched the global market and selected FNZ, we are confident that the solutions we will offer on our new corporate platform will meet these demands and enable employers to offer benefits packages that meet their employees evolving needs."
Adrian Durham, chief executive officer at FNZ said: "The new contract enables FNZ to offer a unique capability for Friends Provident. We have an excellent track record of leveraging our core platform services capability to deliver highly differentiated solutions for our customers. We look forward to working with Friends Provident and h helping them to transform the corporate savings market."