Re: Pension Consultants
Allied Pension Trustees will be acting as consultants and administrators I imagine, ie, they will be keeping the records of each individual member, contributions paid, fund choices, etc. In a consultancy capacity they would be responsible for advising the scheme Trustees on matters such as investment, legislation, scheme design, responsible for completion of annual reports. They will not actually invest monies.
The alternative to an independant consultant/administrator is to be strait-jacketed into a single insurance company contract with considerably less flexibility, usually very poor standards of service, and in most cases, the cost of running the scheme borne by the members through charges against their contributions. If you choose to investigate APT's remuneration, I expect you'll find they are paid a fee for their services by your employer and there are no charges against member contributions. The Investment Managers will have an annual Fund Management Fee, typically 0.75% p.a., but possibly lower depending on the overall assets of your scheme.
Have APT been appointed to replace a previous Consultants? If so, this may be because of unsatisfactory service as alluded to by O, or based on fees, or possibly the online access. Have the Trusttes commmunicated their reasons to you, or have APT presented to you?