Pensions - Articles - Barnett Waddingham’s compliance officer joins AMPS committee

 Barnett Waddingham’s compliance officer, Zoe Smith, has joined the committee for the Association of Member-directed Pension Schemes (AMPS).

 Zoe joins AMPS in place of outgoing chairman and Barnett Waddingham partner Andrew Roberts, who has stepped down from the committee after six years as a member, including the last two of which he was chairman.

 Roberts, who recommended that the committee seek candidates from a compliance-orientated background, said: “When I joined the committee, the key areas of concern were understanding the impact of pension simplification and the practical application of running schemes under a legal rather than discretionary framework. That focus has now shifted and most of the committee time is taken up with regulatory aspects.

 “It is therefore crucial that the committee could count amongst its members someone from a regulatory background, and the constitution demanded that this expertise came from a firm that actually provided a pension product. I am delighted and not at all surprised given past performance that our firm was able to support Zoe’s appointment to the committee.”

 Smith, who has been with Barnett Waddingham since 2007 said: “I have previously sat on the AMPS sub-committee helping the committee understand regulatory matters, and I am looking forward to using my knowledge to assist AMPS more directly.”

 Barnett Waddingham has three ex-chairman of AMPS and its predecessor APT amongst its partners.