Press Releases

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– NEPC, a leading research-driven investment consultant with $1.4 trillion in assets under advisement, today published its second annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Progress Report, the first annually-produced report of its kind for the investment consulting industry.

The report tracks annual progress against the firm’s data-driven Diverse Manager Policy goals and reaffirms NEPC’s belief that investment consultants play a significant role in the financial industry’s quest to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its forms.

“Our goal is to be a change agent for the democratization of access to capital. To do that, NEPC is committed to being radically transparent at all levels – from the way we hire talent to the way we engage with diverse investment managers,” said Sam Austin, Partner & Governance Board Member; Manager of NEPC’s Western U.S. Public Funds Team, and Chair of NEPC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board.

“Our 2021 report lives up to that commitment. Consultants might be wary of sharing all their data in this way, but in this instance, progress is far more important than public perception.”

NEPC’s 2021 DEI Progress Report provides a clear view into the firm’s DEI initiatives across its entire ecosystem. Listed below are highlights from this year’s report:

Increasing Diversity in NEPC’s Talent Pipeline

• 58% of new hires come from diverse backgrounds
• 37% of all 2021 new hires are gender diverse, up 6% from 2020
• 30% of NEPC partners are from diverse backgrounds
• NEPC launched a new MBA Rotational Program to recruit diverse candidates to participate in a summer intern experience at the firm. Half of all 2021 interns have accepted offers to join NEPC on a permanent basis.

Increasing Diversity in NEPC’s Recommended Strategies

• In 2021, NEPC launched its Explorer Program, a platform to identify and engage with diverse-owned and -led investment management firms that are not currently 1- or 2-rated by NEPC.
• The firm increased its vetting of diverse managers by almost 30% in 2021, largely due to initiatives like the Explorer Program.
• NEPC completed a total of 315 meetings with diverse firms over the past two years, significantly surpassing the goal of 132 meetings outlined in NEPC’s Diverse Manager Policy
• 59% of all NEPC clients currently use diverse managers in their portfolios, and 188 client strategies are fully managed by diverse firms. This equates to $40.7 billion in client assets allocated to diverse firms.

“The industry is aware of the importance of increasing diversity at all levels, but we’ve come to realize that it’s a goal that can only be achieved through bold action by investment consultants,” said Mike Manning, Managing Partner and President of NEPC. “As gatekeepers for trillions of dollars of assets, consultants have the power to ensure that governments, institutions, families and individuals are preserving and growing their capital across asset classes and market cycles in ways that create enduring, equitable, and inclusive change for the investment industry and our world.”

For more information about NEPC’s sustainable solutions like its Impact Investing Committee and Diverse Manager Committee, click here. To download the full results of NEPC’s 2021 DEI Progress Report, click here.

ABOUT NEPC, LLC

NEPC is an independent investment consultant and private wealth advisor, serving over 400 retainer clients and $1.4 trillion in total assets. Combining a proprietary research team dedicated to the long-term challenges facing investors with our unique client-centric model, NEPC builds forward-looking investment portfolios for institutional investors and ultra-high-net worth individuals. To learn more about NEPC, visit nepc.com.

Contact:

Laura Nascimento

[email protected]

BOSTON—December 9, 2021 — NEPC, LLC, one of the industry’s largest independent, research-driven investment consulting firms, today announced the election of one new Partner and the promotion of six new Principals, effective January 1, 2022.

“These individuals have all demonstrated exceptional leadership and contributed to the overall success of NEPC. We fully anticipate that they will continue to make a substantial impact for our clients, the firm, and our industry, and these promotions reflect our confidence in their prospective contributions,” said Michael Manning, Managing Partner of NEPC.

The firm will now have 45 Partners and 27 Principals¹.

The newly elected Partner is Will Forde, and new Principals include Richard Chari, Chris Hill, Chris Miers, Tim O’Connell, Deirdre Robert, and Dan Runnals.

Partners

• Will Forde, CFA, CAIA joined NEPC in 2011 as a Search Analyst on NEPC’s Research team, ultimately transitioning into Consulting on the firm’s Public Fund team. Will continued to take on more responsibility and rose through the ranks to Senior Consultant, consistently receiving high marks from his clients on his solution-focused approach to investment portfolios and his strong relationship-building skills. He has played a leadership role on NEPC’s Diverse Manager Committee and has deep investment knowledge of all asset classes. He is also an active member of NEPC’s Asset Allocation Committee, its Client Conference Committee, and has played a leadership role in many of the firm’s internal DEI efforts.

Principals

• Richard Chari joined NEPC as an analyst in 2008 and has worked his way through the ranks to an accomplished, highly valued Senior Consultant on the Corporate Defined Benefit (DB) Team. His extensive knowledge of LDI and pension risk transfer (PRT) are essential skills that are leveraged across the DB Team and by other teams at the firm.

• Chris Hill, CFA, CAIA joined NEPC in 2013 as a Senior Consultant in Alternatives and then after a short stint at Entrust, returned to NEPC in 2017 to join the firm’s Private Markets Team. Chris has a breadth of knowledge and expertise that he shares across NEPC. Whether it be his work as a private market consultant, his research on private credit, or his more technical portfolio construction skills, he is constantly sought out by Partners and Consultants looking to tap into this knowledge.

• Chris Miers J.D., CRE, FRICS joined NEPC in 2019 as a Senior Consultant on the Real Assets Team. Chris spearheads investment manager research in Europe and Asia in addition to his general non-core and real estate debt underwriting efforts. He also helps lead NEPC’s research in topical areas such as data centers, life sciences, and single-family housing strategies.

• Tim O’Connell, CFA joined NEPC in 2012 as a hedge fund analyst. Today he manages a 14-person investment research team. The ~1,650 investment strategies covered by his team represent about 60% of NEPC client assets. Tim played a major leadership role in creating NEPC’s investment manager evaluation framework and in implementing it over the past two years.

• Deirdre Robert, CFA, CAIA joined NEPC 13 years ago as a Performance Analyst on the Defined Contribution (DC) Team after spending two summers interning in Research. As a Senior Consultant on NEPC’s DC Team today, she is known for her deep knowledge of DC topics, her ability to handle complex clients, and her strength in new business. She is a member of NEPC’s Women’s Leadership Forum, is a Diverse Manager Committee Ambassador, and a Client Conference Committee member.

• Dan Runnals CFA, CAIA joined NEPC in 2011 as a Performance Analyst and made his way into the consulting ranks of the firm’s Taft-Hartley Team. Now a Senior Consultant, he has built strong relationships with NEPC’s clients and is extremely knowledgeable across all asset classes, asset allocation methodologies, and investment products.

ABOUT NEPC, LLC

NEPC is an independent investment consultant and private wealth advisor, serving over 400 retainer clients and $1.4 trillion² in total assets. Combining a proprietary research team dedicated to the long-term challenges facing investors with our unique client-centric model, NEPC builds forward-looking investment portfolios for institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. To learn more about NEPC, visit NEPC.com.

¹ Data as of 1/01/2022

² Data as of 10/1/2021

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NEPC, LLC, one of the largest independent, research-driven investment consulting firms, today announced that former Aon executive Bill Ryan joined the firm as Partner and Head of Defined Contribution (DC) Solutions, effective November 1.

In the newly created role, Ryan helps lead the way NEPC serves DC plan sponsors, ensuring the firm’s solutions address challenges like governance model support, operational risk management, and using participant level data to enhance plan design.

“While their teams and resources have decreased, plan sponsors today face increasingly complicated challenges,” said Craig Svendsen, NEPC Partner and Corporate Practice Director. “Bill will help us more efficiently deliver the strategic, innovative solutions our clients need. As plans evolve, we’ll always stay a step ahead to prepare our clients for what’s next.”

Prior to joining NEPC, Ryan was Head of North America DC Multi-Asset Solutions at Aon where he advised 21 of Pensions & Investments’ (P&I) top 100 DC plan sponsors and was entrusted with more than $800 billion in retirement savings for 60 million participants. He also led the firm’s Custom DC Solutions Team, which was responsible for over $500 billion of bespoke solutions.

“Joining NEPC allows me to build on its foundation of over 200 DC clients to create and deliver tailored, innovative solutions that address their unique needs,” said Ryan. “I’ll be focusing on helping clients effectively use plan data to evaluate investment efficiencies and expanding NEPC’s retirement income solutions expertise. Sponsors deserve the independence, innovation, and commitment that NEPC delivers.”

Ryan is an Executive Committee member and Chair of the Investment Policy and Design Committee for the DC Institutional Investment Association. He has received several P&I Eddy Awards as plan sponsor, was named a 2020 Power Broker in Employee Benefits as an investment consultant by Risk & Insurance Magazine, and was a 2013 finalist for PLANSPONSOR’s Plan Sponsor of the Year.

Learn more about NEPC’s Defined Contribution Team here.

ABOUT NEPC, LLC

NEPC is an independent investment consultant and private wealth advisor, serving over 400 retainer clients and $1.4 trillion in total assets. Combining a proprietary research team dedicated to the long-term challenges facing investors with our unique client-centric model, NEPC builds forward-looking investment portfolios for institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. To learn more about NEPC, visit nepc.com.

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NEPC, LLC, one of the industry’s largest independent, research-driven investment consulting firms, today announced the key trends from its benchmark Defined Benefit Plan Trends Survey, which examines historical trends and health of corporate and healthcare pensions. 2021 marks the 10^th anniversary of this survey.

The results, to be released in January 2022, highlight three significant trends over the past decade:

• Pension funded status has improved dramatically. In the inaugural 2011 survey, only 13% of plans had a funded status above 100%. In 2021, that number rose to 31%
• Plan sponsors have increased their LDI allocations. Only 9% of pensions had an LDI allocation above 51% in 2011. In 2021, 42% of pensions had an LDI allocation above 51%.
• Shifting asset allocations coupled with the strong market environment materially reduced expected return on assets (EROA). In 2011, 100% of respondents had an EROA assumption above 7%. By 2021, only 29% of respondents reported an EROA expectation above 7%.

In terms of results, 2021 was a record year for glide path triggers as 61% of respondents hit a glide path trigger – compared to 18% in 2019, 34% in 2017, and 16% in 2016. This increase was driven by higher Pension Discount Rates (PDR) in Q1 and strong equity returns – 89% of respondents said their trigger was caused by market movements.

With regards to other topics, ESG adoption continued to grow (albeit slowly) but interest appears to have waned. Respondents in this year’s survey who have not adopted ESG say they are less likely to consider ESG in the future.

56% of the 2021 respondents expect PDR to increase in the next year, driven by concerns around inflation and the current low rate environment. Despite this outlook, 56% expect strong equity returns over the next year while 75% indicate a less than 50% probability of a market correction in the next six months.

2021 saw an uptick in plan termination considerations compared to 2019. 20% of sponsors with a closed or frozen plan indicated they were planning a plan termination, compared to 17% in 2019. Additionally, more plan sponsors (33%) considered a termination in 2021 but eventually rejected, compared to 23% in 2019.

“If funded status continues to increase and discount rates rise, we may see more plan sponsors revisit the merits of annuitization,” said Brad Smith, Partner at NEPC and member of the firm’s Corporate Defined Benefit Team. “Half of plan sponsors in NEPC’s 2021 survey looking to terminate don’t plan to for the next two to seven years, so it’s crucial to have an immunization strategy that can protect current funded status gains. As an independent, research-driven team, we’re able to take a long-term view to preserve and grow pensions for financially-secure retirements.”

The full 2021 survey results will be unveiled during an NEPC webinar in January 2022.

For more information on NEPC’s Corporate Defined Benefit Team, click here.

About the Survey

49% of respondents have an asset size greater than $1 billion. 58% of respondents are corporate plans while 27% are healthcare plans. 15% identified as ‘other.’

ABOUT NEPC, LLC

NEPC is an independent investment consultant and private wealth advisor, serving over 400 retainer clients and $1.4 trillion in total assets. Combining a proprietary research team dedicated to the long-term challenges facing investors with our unique client-centric model, NEPC builds forward-looking investment portfolios for institutional investors and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. To learn more about NEPC, visit nepc.com.

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NEPC, a leading research-driven investment consultant with $1.3 trillion in AUA today unveiled The Explorer Program, a platform to identify, meaningfully explore and engage with diverse-owned and -led investment management firms who are not currently 1- or 2-rated by NEPC. Once in the program, the NEPC Research team will consider these diverse managers for inclusion in client portfolios and for future inclusion on the firm’s Focused Placement List (FPL), which is comprised of top-ranking 1-rated managers.

“We are intentional about our engagement with diverse managers,” said Will Forde, Principal and Senior Consultant at NEPC and member of the firm’s Diverse Manager Committee. “Several studies have shown that diverse investment managers often earn better results for their clients than the market more broadly. That’s partly why The Explorer Program is so necessary, it will increase the number of NEPC’s rated diverse strategies by approximately 30%, allowing our clients to choose from a stronger set of options.”

The Explorer Program was unveiled at NEPC’s annual Equitable Manager Participation Workshop, an event that seeks to further expand NEPC’s network of diverse managers through meaningful discussions and engagements.

As part of this program, each researcher on the Marketable Securities team will source at least one Explorer strategy within their asset class area of coverage. Like FPL strategies, Explorer strategies will be fully vetted and approved by NEPC’s Due Diligence Committee and/or Alternative Asset Committee. The vetting of Explorer strategies is consistent with the firm’s standard framework for investment strategy due diligence.

Explorer strategies will have comparable characteristics to FPL firms and strategies but may differ in some ways, including lower assets under management, shorter track records, limited back office resources, higher fees and a unique investment approach. The NEPC Research team will conduct annual reviews of the program to identify those diverse strategies ready to migrate to the firm’s Focused Placement List.

The idea for The Explorer Program was directly inspired by the specific goals set forth in NEPC’s Diverse Manager Policy 2.0, which outlines the firm’s short-term and long-term goals for increasing NEPC’s engagement with diverse managers. Two key goals of this policy were to increase the number of meetings with diverse firms by 10% in 2020 and for diverse managers to represent 10% of managers on the firm’s Focused Placement List by the end of 2021.

NEPC’s first annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Progress Report, the first comprehensive DEI report of its kind from an investment consultant, illustrates how NEPC is achieving those publicly-stated goals on expanding engagements with diverse-owned and diverse-led investment managers.

“NEPC’s ongoing commitment to identifying and supporting diverse-owned and -led investment managers reflects our view that diversity, equity and inclusion will drive long-term success in our business as well as the investment industry, more broadly,” said Chenae Edwards, Partner at NEPC and co-chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Network. “Institutional investors have taken important steps to increase their engagement with diverse managers in the last year. However, there is more progress to be made and The Explorer Program is designed to fuel that progress. As a firm, NEPC will continue pushing for radical transparency and accountability around diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the entire investment industry.”

The new Explorer Program is a product of thoughtful collaboration between NEPC’s Research team and the firm’s Diverse Managers Committee, which consists of senior consultants and senior research professionals specializing in public markets and alternative investment strategies.

To learn more about NEPC’s DEI programs, click here or read this report.

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NEPC, a leading research-driven investment consultant with $1.3 trillion in AUM, today published its 1st Annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Progress Report in a push for radical transparency and accountability in the investment industry.

The first comprehensive DEI report of its kind from an investment consultant, the 42-page report delivers on a 2019 commitment to measure quantitative and qualitative progress toward publicly-stated DEI goals on expanding engagements with diverse-owned and diverse-led investment managers and increasing diversity and championing a culture of equity and inclusion among NEPC employees, leaders and owners.

“You cannot manage what you don’t measure,” said Sam Austin, Partner, Executive Committee Member and Manager of NEPC’s Western U.S. Public Funds Consulting Team. Austin has spearheaded the firm’s DEI efforts since joining in 2017 and is currently Chair of NEPC’s Diversity and Inclusion Board.

“We hold ourselves accountable to specific goals for diversity, equity and inclusion in the same way we manage our progress toward any other important strategic objective,” Austin said. “Progress does not always occur in a straight line, so quantitative data may differ from year to year. But we will always be transparent in reporting on whether we are making meaningful improvement over time.”

The progress report illustrates specific initiatives underway at NEPC to continue working towards DEI goals in the years to come. Significant metrics in NEPC’s 1st Annual DEI Progress Report include:

• NEPC brought on diverse talent in 2020: When looking at gender, ethnicity and race, more than half (58%) of NEPC’s new hires in 2020 were diverse.
• 2020 saw strong upward mobility among female employees and leaders at NEPC: Gender diversity at the partner and principal level (30% female identifying employees) is nearing the same rate as within the firm’s total employee population (36% female identifying employees).
• More progress needs to be made to increase ethnic and racial diversity among leadership: At the most senior levels, ethnic and racial diversity (10.8%) remains lower than ethnic and racial diversity of the overall NEPC employee population (24%).
• DEI increased at the ownership level: Partners that are diverse by gender, race or ethnicity own a 30% interest in the firm.
• Engagement with diverse-led and diverse-owned investment managers increased significantly: NEPC achieved a 72% increase in the number of Research interactions with diverse-owned¹ and diverse-led² firms and achieved a 45% increase in the representation of these diverse firms on NEPC’s Focused Placement list.

Speaking about the urgency for advancing DEI in finance, Chenae Edwards, Partner and Co-Chair of NEPC’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Network, said, “The lack of diversity and equitable practices in the finance industry is the result of decades of persistent actions – or lack thereof – by leaders, board members and companies. The moment requires similarly persistent actions from all stakeholders to reset our industry’s foundation to reflect the rich diversity of the global marketplace.”

NEPC hopes their leadership in voluntarily publishing this DEI Progress Report will challenge other investment consultants, asset managers and investors to transparently set, pursue and report on their goals for diversity, equity and inclusion.

ABOUT NEPC, LLC

NEPC is an independent investment consultant and private wealth advisor, serving 391 retainer clients and $1.3 trillion in total assets. Combining a proprietary research team dedicated to the long-term challenges facing investors with our unique client-centric model, NEPC builds forward-looking investment portfolios for institutional investors and ultra-high-net worth individuals. To learn more about NEPC, visit nepc.com.

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¹PC defines diverse-owned investment managers as a firm that is at least 50% owned by an underrepresented group.
²PC defines diverse-led investment managers as firms that is 33% -to-50%-owned by an underrepresented group.