Appointment reflects commitment to growing a strong and sustainable business
Phoenix Group (“Phoenix”), the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business, today announces the appointment of Colin Williams as Managing Director, Pensions and Savings. The appointment signals the strong foundations the firm is putting in place, as it continues to grow a strong and sustainable business that will help even more people on their journey to and through retirement.
Colin Williams has more than 28 years of executive experience within the industry and has been leading retirement savings businesses since 2001. Most recently Colin served as Managing Director of Aviva’s Workplace Savings and Retirement business and its Financial Advice business, and played an integral role in driving growth of Aviva’s Master Trust proposition, having also been served as a Scheme Strategist. Prior to this, he held executive level positions in Friends Life, Axa Corporate Benefits, Fidelity International and Prudential Assurance. Additionally, Colin was a Non-Executive Director of Sesame Bankhall Group. Colin will be based in London and joins the business in June 2021.
Commenting, Andy Curran, CEO of Savings and Retirement, UK and Europe said:
“Colin is a terrific hire and is absolutely the right leader for Phoenix’s Pensions and Savings business. We are continuing to invest in a market-leading team who will deliver on our growth strategy, placing customers at the heart of everything we do. Colin brings an outstanding leadership track record of delivering successful long-term savings and retirement businesses, and a breadth of business experience that I believe is crucial to accelerate our growth ambitions.”
Colin Williams said:
“I believe Phoenix has a great business model, a clear strategy and a talented management team, which uniquely positions Phoenix to meet the growing and more complex needs of customers, regardless of whether they are saving through their workplace pensions or through individual savings. I’m excited to be joining Phoenix and very much looking forward to being part of this team.”
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Notes to editors
About Phoenix Group
Phoenix has become the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business following the completion of the ReAssure acquisition, and is also the largest consolidator of closed life and pension funds in Europe.
Phoenix has businesses in the UK, Germany and Ireland, split across three key business segments: UK Heritage, UK Open and Europe.
The Group specialises in the acquisition and management of closed life insurance and pension funds (its Heritage business). Phoenix is a leader in the safe and efficient management of UK Heritage business. The UK Heritage segment comprises products that are no longer actively marketed to customers and has been built through the consolidation of over 100 legacy insurance brands.
In addition, Phoenix’s UK Open business manufactures and underwrites long-term savings and retirement products to support people saving for their future. These products are actively marketed to new and existing customers, primarily under the Standard Life brand. This segment is underpinned by a strategic partnership with Standard Life Aberdeen following the Phoenix Group’s acquisition of Standard Life Assurance Limited in 2018. Standard Life Assurance is a long-established expert in workplace pensions, personal pensions, long term savings and retirement solutions, and its customers and clients include individual savers and some of the largest employers in the UK, as well as professional advisers. The UK Open business includes a growing BPA business. Phoenix Group also has a market leading brand - SunLife - which sells a range of financial products specifically for the over 50s market.
The European business spans a range of both Open and Heritage products across three segments: Ireland, Germany and the International Bond in the UK. Our focus is on protecting our existing assets, optimising sales and driving efficiencies, which enables us to maximise value in these businesses and provides a platform for potential future consolidation in Europe.
Phoenix Group is a member of the FTSE 100 index, and has circa 14 million policies and over £300 billion of assets under administration.