Pension and Employee Benefits Services
Comarton is convinced that a modern professional Fund Management service must address the following critical areas and we have structured ourselves appropriately, to meet this challenge:
- PEBS is responsible for all Advisory and Secretarial requirements of the Fund.
- Preparation of monthly accounts as well as attending to the Annual Audit by an externally appointed Auditor.
- Preparation of Trustees package for the quarterly Trustees’ meetings.
- All facets of Pension Fund Administration and Benefit Design.
- Pioneering Self-Insurance concepts.
- Post Retirement Basic Medical Cover at no cost to both the pensioner and employer.
- Structured Burial Benefit.
IT Capacity
- Our IT subsidiary company, Comarsoft Solutions (Private) Limited (Comarsoft) successfully developed “The Pensions Manager”; our administration platform with intertwined Accounting and Payroll systems which phenomenally enhanced our administrative efficiency.
- These systems have been further enhanced by a mobile application which allows members and pensioners to view their details on our database and e-mail links allowing the Principal Officer of a Fund to make requests for information and data from his/her office directly to our system with server replies with no human intervention. Nobody else has similar systems amongst our competitors.
The systems have been sold to four large self- administered Funds in Zimbabwe whose names can be provided on request.
Comarsoft’s suite of software solutions, which can be provided as stand –alone solutions or fully integrated packages includes the following;
ALL THE ‘SOURCE CODES’ FOR THESE SYSTEMS ARE OWNED BY COMARSOFT.
- Asset Management Systems
- Software installation and data conversion and testing
- Integrated Pension Fund Management, Accounting and Payroll Systems
- Life Assurance Management System
- Medical Aid Administration System
- Mortgages Management System
- Investment Management System
- Property Management Administration System
- Reserve Calculation and Analysis System (Short Term Insurance)
- ComLearn School Management System
More details on Comasoft are found here http://www.comarsoft.co.zw/ .
Actuarial Capacity
- It is now worldwide practice that Boards of Trustees rely heavily on actuarial expertise in the overall management of a Fund, as they seek to formulate the Fund’s investment strategy based on actuarially determined asset/liability models.
- Through Atchison Actuarial Services (Atchison), a subsidiary entity within the Comarton Group, we provide full actuarial and investment consulting services to pension funds under our management and other entities, locally and regionally.
- Atchison was in 2011, awarded the tender to conduct an Actuarial investigation into the proposed conversion of the Government of Zimbabwe Civil Service Pension Fund from the present Pay – As – You – Go arrangement to a funded Pension Scheme. This major exercise was successfully concluded in 2012, and has formed the basis of the Government of Zimbabwe’s Civil Service pension reform programme which has now been launched. This launch was benchmarked on the Pathfinder Document prepared by Atchison in November 2018 for and on behalf of both the Ministry of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare and Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.
- Atchison’s level of professionalism was confirmed when it was further re-affirmed by its appointment in 2013 to work with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare in Zimbabwe on appropriate domestic health financing options for Zimbabwe’s health system.
More details on Atchison and its achievements are found here. http://atchisonactuaries.co.zw/
Comarton Managed Pension Funds Investment Consortium (Consortium)
With a view to assisting Pension Funds to focus on returns that are higher than the inflation rate, Comarton spearheaded and guided Funds on our portfolio in launching the Consortium in 2007. Some of the key deliverances to date include:
- Launching and maintaining a common Custodial facility for all Pension Funds ensuring firm security for their assets at much lower Group negotiated costs;
- Direct property purchases under the Consortium thereby benefiting Funds through capital appreciation and rental income;
- A joint Reassurance Pool which has created significant savings for participants which are now being used to fund other new programs.
- One of the programs being; the unique Post-Retirement Primary Healthcare Program for all pensioners on our portfolio at no additional cost to both the pensioners and employer.
- The launch of Arden Capital Limited (formerly known as Brainworks Capital Limited), originally a private equity investment which is now listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange then, taking advantage of the investment opportunities emerging in Zimbabwe now in partnership with established international companies. The Consortium on behalf of individual Funds controls a percentage of this Group whose flagship is African Sun Hotels in Zimbabwe. This Consortium investment has put our portfolio of Funds way above the market in terms of returns.
- Establishing Macadamia and Avocado plantations in Chipinge in partnership with the Wattle Company.
- Setting-up of the Consortium Cash Investment Pool which variously has delivered the best Money Market returns over the last four (4) years.