Board Committees

These are the:

• Remuneration Committee
• Audit Committee
• Nomination Committee
• Group Risk Committee
• Disclosure Committee
• Customer, Culture and Ethics Committee

Remuneration Committee

This committee is focused on setting and approving the renumeration policies, including annual bonus rules, malus and clawbacks, and pension arrangements. You can find more detail in the terms of reference for this committee.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee has oversight of PFG as a whole and, unless required by regulation, will carry out their duties for the Group and all the subsidiary businesses.

Nomination Committee

Among other things, this committee annually reviews the directors’ skills matrix to make sure it reflects the skills PFG needs from its most senior leaders. All the duties of the committee can be found here. 

Group Risk Committee

This committee reviews PFG’s overall risk assessment processes that inform the Board’s decision-making, ensuring both qualitative and quantitative metrics are used in the robust assessment of emerging and principal risks.

The Group Risk Committee assists the Board by taking an active role in defining risk appetite, and monitoring the risk management and internal control systems across PFG.

Disclosure Committee

The Committee is responsible for ensuring the Company complies with the EU Market Abuse Regulations, the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, and the Listing Rules. In effect, it has to decide what company information is deemed market sensitive or not, and if so, when it needs to be disclosed to the stock market.

Customer, Culture and Ethics Committee

Established in 2019, the Customer, Culture and Ethics Committee plays a key role in providing oversight to our corporate responsibility agenda. Among other things, the committee oversees how PFG is embedding its Blueprint and Purpose, and assesses how effective the business is in delivering its agenda in accordance with the Blueprint. You can read more in the committee’s terms of reference document.

Performance evaluation

We evaluate the performance of our Board each year. The Chairman is responsible for this evaluation. We adhere to the UK Corporate Governance Code and make sure an external evaluation is carried out every three years. This external evaluation, next due in 2021, questions the different aspects of how the Board operates, how the members and committees conduct themselves, and the performance of the individual directors.

Our Board reviews the evaluation and, in the event any issues are brought to light, proposals are drawn up to tackle them. The performance of the Chairman is also reviewed on a yearly basis. The Senior Independent Director carries out this review. 

Internal controls

It’s important PFG and our divisions maintain consistent control and risk management systems. Our Group Risk Committee reviews the assessment of these risks and the associated frameworks. We are consistent in our approach to risk across PFG because we understand inconsistencies can have a significant impact on the Group’s ability to achieve its objectives.

Risk owners are identified and given responsibilities to make sure actions are implemented with appropriate review dates. Risk Registers are reviewed by our Risk Advisory Group and these are updated each quarter. The Group Risk Committee is responsible for monitoring the key metrics identified by the divisions and the Group to make sure, in particular, customer outcomes remain central to the Group’s risk management programme.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee normally meets at least once a week, and more frequently as required, and supervises the boards of its principle operating divisions and manages the running of the group, other than those matters reserved to the board and those specifically assigned to the other four committees. There is a formal schedule of matters reserved to it for decision as included with the committee's Terms of Reference.

Terms of reference