Continuity in a changing world

The Challenge

2022 was a year of significant change for Quilter. With both a new CEO and a new Chair in place the Annual Report needed to provide reassurance to investors and wider stakeholders of a seamless leadership transition and a commitment to continue with the next phase of Quilter’s strategic journey.

To support this it was seen as essential to highlight the continuity and depth of experience in the day-to-day running of the business; to this end the report made a feature of re-introducing the Executive Committee in the CEO’s statement, to provide this reassurance from the outset.

Our Approach

A more insightful view into how the business monitors progress against strategic targets was provided through a combined strategy and KPIs section this year, allowing readers to gain the full picture in one place.

The business model was also further refined to mirror the restructuring that had taken place in the business and provide a more succinct and clearer overview of Quilter’s differentiated model, and how this attracts and retains new business.

During 2022 Quilter refocused and strengthened their sustainability reporting after undertaking a materiality assessment. Being able to redefine their material issues and develop a suitable strategic framework helped shape how, as an organisation, Quilter acts and invests.

With such significant changes in top leadership during the year the Governance sections became more central to the story for 2022, showcasing Quilter’s succession planning in action, and providing a clear articulation of how this change impacted the composition of the Board.

A detailed Governance At a Glance section provided a clear overview of key Board metrics, moving beyond general diversity statistics to give a deeper dive into how the Board spent its time and key topics they discussed during the year.

Given the wider volatility in the marketplace, and recent global developments, Quilter enhanced its disclosures on perceived emerging risks, providing a clear distinction between those they deemed near-term, medium-term and longer-term risks. As part of this enhancement, Quilter moved beyond a boilerplate approach, by addressing how these emerging risks would specifically impact business operations.

Within each Committee report, Quilter provided a comparison to the previous year in terms of how the Committees spent their time, providing a layer of accountability and detail not often seen.

The Result

In conclusion, Quilter’s 2022 Annual Report not only serves as a flagship reporting tool, but as an opportunity to articulate the stability of the business in a year of significant internal change, reinforce their commitment to operating and investing responsibly, and underline the effectiveness of well-established and considered governance practices.

Awards

Shortlisted for ‘Best FTSE 250 Annual report’ at the IR Society awards.