Insights

NEPC published its fourth annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Progress Report. The report aims to uncover the investment-oriented benefits of diversity, supporting NEPC’s goal of establishing itself as a pioneer in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

This year’s report shows the firm’s continued progress toward NEPC’s Diverse Manager Policy goals, which were initially set in 2019. Most notably, the firm released a new DEI rating system in 2023, modeled partially after its successful ESG ratings. The revamped DEI ratings extend beyond measures of ownership diversity to consider DEI standards for the workplace, portfolio management, governance, policies, and community impact.

Highlights from this year’s report include:

Client Exposure to Diverse Strategies

• 58% of NEPC clients use Diverse Manager(s)
• $45.4B of client’s assets with Diverse Firms
• 218 client strategies managed by Diverse Firms

Increasing Diversity in NEPC’s Recommended Strategies

The firm continued expanding the Explorer Program, which has been the cornerstone of NEPC’s DEI efforts for several years. At the 2023 Explorer Program Pre-Conference event, an event held prior to NEPC’s Investment Conference, NEPC clients were able to make direct connections and introductions to diverse-owned investment managers that are part of NEPC’s Explorer Program.

• In 2023, NEPC once again increased the number of diverse-owned managers on its Focus Placement List, positioning the firm to reach its goal of 15% diverse manager representation by the summer of 2024.
• NEPC conducted 284 interactions with Diverse Management firms in 2023, including both manager meetings and emerging manager conferences.

For more information about NEPC’s sustainable solutions like its Explorer Program, click here. To download the full results of NEPC’s 2023 DEI Progress Report, enter your information below: