“This makes life a lot easier”

The transition to the new pension system is changing and intensifying the way information is exchanged between pension administrators and asset management firms. To simplify this process, the SIVI standard has been developed. APG is one of the first pension administrators to adopt this industry-recognized standard. 

“This will be a huge help”, says Wouter Köbben of APG. As a project manager, he is closely involved with APG’s data integration function, which independently bridges the gap between pension administration and asset management. “This means that a large amount of data flows back and forth between APG and the asset managers we collaborate with. It’s extremely convenient that everyone will now deliver data in the same format, allowing us to easily integrate it into our processes. With the introduction of the new pension framework (Wtp), the demand for information will change, and the frequency of these exchanges will increase.” 

New data flows for SPR 
Köbben refers to the fact that APG has established an entirely new data stream for the solidary premium scheme (SPR), which APG manages for the recently integrated pension funds PPF APG and PWRI. This applies to both the accumulation and payout phases. 

“Pension administration organizations regularly require information from fiduciary managers and investment administrators to manage participant records accurately. At the same time, fiduciary managers need information to invest assets on behalf of various pension administrators, following the agreed investment strategy. The new pension system requires a closer alignment between the fund assets managed by fiduciary managers and the collective administration of individual pension accounts handled by pension administrators. The SIVI standard will help streamline this process.” 

Supporting different process phases 
The standard facilitates data exchange at various process stages between pension administrators and asset managers. “So, what does that mean in practice? There’s a uniform structure that ensures everyone uses the same tables and enters specific data in predefined fields.” 

However, the specific details of the data exchange are determined by contractual agreements between pension administrators and their asset management partners. “What the standard does not cover are exchanges related to the investment strategy, financial framework, or allocation rules. This type of information is shared via policy documents like the strategic investment plan, the annual investment plan, and the investment guidelines. Importantly, personal data is never exchanged. All data sharing occurs at the cohort level, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations. In short, the SIVI standard only applies to the data needed to facilitate pension fund investments and to share investment performance results.” 

Owned by the Pension Federation 
The SIVI standard is owned by the Pension Federation, with SIVI responsible for its maintenance. APG is one of the first pension administration organizations to adopt this standard. 

According to Köbben, the standard is particularly beneficial for multi-client organizations: “If you manage just one fund with one asset manager, you can deliver data in whatever format you prefer. But if, like APG, you collaborate with multiple asset managers, it becomes far more important to streamline data flows across systems and processes - especially now, with the new pension framework. Standardization makes life much easier for both senders and recipients. It eliminates the need for every collaborating party to reinvent the wheel in separate, bilateral processes.”