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© Copyright 2000 Rogers Media. The following article first appeared in the February 2001 edition of
BENEFITS CANADA magazine.
E-Poll
How would you rate the level of service you receive from your custodian?
Like any service industry, custodians probably hear their fair share of complaints about customer service.
This month's E-poll asked plan sponsors how satisfied they are with the level of service they receive from
their custodial providers. The responses are almost equally divided, with 53% of plan sponsors ranking the
level of service they receive from their custodians as good or very good. Forty-seven per cent of the
respondents, however, rate the level of service they receive from their custodians as poor or very poor.
Barry Gilmour, manager, pension fund administration at Goodyear Canada Inc. in Toronto says that Goodyear's
current custodian provides very good service overall. However, prior to switching to a new custodian, he
was less than pleased. Goodyear's previous custodian was acquired and following the acquistion, he says
"the service just went downhill."
By contrast, Ken Bancroft, director of investments with the Alberta Teachers' Retirement Fund Board in
Edmonton says he is generally satisfied with the level of service his plan receives from its
custodian."It's been good," he says. "They've been very responsive to our questions. Most of the time, the
settlement issues are handled the same day. So consequently, we don't have big issues."
Cathy Chan, pension analyst with information technology company EDS Canada, notes that individual employees
at the custody firm can make a big difference in terms of the level of service sponsors receive. And
although she says EDS's custodian provides a standard level of service, she points out all custodians can
probably improve their customer service to some extent.
--Andrea Davis with files from Young Um
Service levels
Over half (53%) of plan sponsors rank the level of service they receive from their custodian as good or
very good.
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