In a Year of Growth and Expansion, NEPC Elects New Partners and Announces Promotion of Principals
BOSTON–December 15, 2022–NEPC, LLC one of the industry’s largest independent, research-driven investment consulting firms, today announced the election of seven new partners and the promotion of eleven new principals across the firm. These new elections and promotions will be effective January 1, 2023.
“NEPC continues to be an industry leader simply because we believe in identifying, attracting, and fostering world-class talent,” said Michael Manning, Managing Partner of NEPC. “These new partners and principals represent the best and brightest in our industry. Through either crafting tailored, research-driven strategies that ensure our clients’ long-term financial sustainability or supporting our clients and workforce with creative solutions, this team is ensuring that NEPC remains a premier destination for investment services.”
The newly elected Partners are:
- Josh Beers – Head of Private Equity Investments
- Sebastian Grzejka, CAIA – Senior Consultant, Endowments and Foundations
- Matt Lombardi – Chief Financial Officer
- Dulari Pancholi, CFA, CAIA – Head of Credit and Multi-Asset Investments
- Kelly Regan – Senior Consultant, Corporate
- Matthew Ritter, CAIA – Head of Real Asset Investments
- Elton Thomaj, CAIA – Senior Investment Director, Portfolio Construction
NEPC’s new Principals are:
- Kelly Bruns – Senior Finance Manager
- Jason Castonguay – Director, Discretionary
- Thomas Cook – Senior Consultant, Defined Contribution
- Tim Fitzgerald, CAIA – Senior Consultant, Defined Contribution
- Brandon Jones – Senior Investment Director, Portfolio Construction
- Ashlee Lazzari – Director of Marketing and Communications
- Heather Martone – Senior Marketing Manager
- Kevin Novak – Senior Consultant, Healthcare
- Brian Parnell – Director, Discretionary
- Keith Stronkowsky, CFA – Senior Consultant, Public
- Eric Vallo, CFA – Senior Consultant, Healthcare
For NEPC, 2022 has been a year defined by talent expansion. Key highlights include:
- Former Meketa Partner and Chief Operating Officer Kellie Kane joined NEPC as its new COO in May 2022.
- In July 2022, NEPC expanded its Corporate Consulting practice group by acquiring a team from Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM).
- Real estate industry leader Shelley Santulli joined the firm in October, 2022 as Principal and Senior Investment Director, Real Assets.
For more information on NEPC’s employee workforce and to explore open opportunities, click here.
About NEPC, LLC
NEPC, LLC, is one of the country’s leading investment consulting firms, servicing 411 retainer clients with $1.4 trillion in assets1 with $301.2 billion in alternative assets2. 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 As of 10/1/2022
2 As of 12/31/2021, NEPC provides some form of advice to all clients counted but does not advise all clients on all asset classes.
Media Contact:
Laura Nascimento
Broadcast Retirement Network: What Employers Are Saying About Retirement Income
NEPC’s Bill Ryan appeared on the Broadcast Retirement Network to discuss what clients are thinking about when it comes to retirement income. View on the BRN website here or watch below.
FIN News: Inflation, Interest Rates Present Biggest Risks To Markets: NEPC Study
NEPC’s Brad Smith was quoted in a recent FIN News article to discuss concerns of plan sponsors found through our 2022 DB Flash Poll. View the article on FIN News’ site here.
The investment consultant’s 2022 DB Trends Flash Poll reveals the biggest risks to markets over the next 12 months in addition to how plan sponsors are assessing their glidepaths and managing allocations against the backdrop of this year’s heightened market volatility.
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“It’s been nearly a decade since plan sponsors have had to keep factors like rapid inflation and rising rates in mind when rebalancing or determining their asset allocation strategies,” said NEPC Corporate Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution consultant Bradley Smith, in a statement.
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“With rising concerns about how corporate profits will likely impact the market in the year ahead, our priority right now is helping ensure that our pension and defined contribution clients are well equipped to mitigate risk and have a clear plan of action in 2023 and beyond,” Smith continued.
ASPPA: Reticence and Risks Rife?
NEPC’s 2022 DB Flash Poll findings were featured in a recent article from the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) to discuss risks plan sponsors perceive and anticipate. View the article on ASPPA’s site here.
These are bracing times for retirement savers, and two recent reports offer a window into tensions savers feel and risks plan sponsors perceive and anticipate.
Economic uncertainty can breed slower progress in saving for retirement or even regression, LIMRA suggests. Even before the current economic conditions, they say, nearly 40% of those nearing retirement were very concerned that they would outlive their retirement savings.
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“The investment consulting firm NEPC buttresses the current apprehension. In a November 2022 poll of corporations and non-profits, they report that the ability of the Federal Reserve to manage inflation was the top choice of what the biggest risks are to the markets in the next 12 months. Rising interest rates came in second.
Further, NEPC says that none of the respondents that had frozen their defined benefit plan said that they were going to unfreeze it or that they had even thought about doing so.”
Pensions & Investments: Plan Sponsors See Inflation, Lower Profit Margins as Biggest Risks to Stock Market
NEPC’s Brad Smith was quoted in a recent Pensions & Investments article to discuss concerns of plan sponsors found through our 2022 DB Flash Poll. View the article on Pensions & Investments’ site here.
CIO: What Do Pension Funds Worry Over Most
NEPC’s 2022 DB Flash Poll findings were featured in a recent CIO article to discuss new threats to pension plan sponsors. View the article on CIO’s site here.
NEPC survey says they are leery of rising interest rates, the Fed’s ability to handle inflation and profit margins.
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“In an NEPC survey of plan sponsors, roughly one-third of whom held more than $1 billion in their defined benefit plans, the top risk was the Fed’s ability to manage inflation (listed by 32% of respondents). No. 2, at 27%, was rising interest rates. The third biggest risk (19%) was corporate profit margins. International problems—geopolitical risks of war in Europe (15%) and related to China (5%)—were next.”
NEPC Survey: Majority of Pension Plans See Fed and Soaring Corporate Profit Margins As Biggest Threat to Markets
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NEPC, LLC one of the industry’s largest independent, research-driven investment consulting firms, today announced new data showcasing what corporate and healthcare pension plan sponsors believe are the biggest risks to markets over the next 12 months. The new report also gives insight into how plan sponsors are assessing their glide path and managing their asset allocation against the backdrop of this year’s heightened market volatility.
Plan sponsors overwhelmingly agree that the three biggest risks to markets over the next 12 months are: the Fed’s ability to fight inflation (93%), rising interest rates (79%), and corporate profit margins (57%). Interestingly, geopolitical risk seems to have taken a backseat to these three relatively domestic concerns. Of all respondents, 43% listed geopolitical concerns in Europe as one of the three biggest threats, with only 16% listing geopolitical risk in China as one of their top concerns.
“It’s been nearly a decade since plan sponsors have had to keep factors like rapid inflation and rising rates in mind when rebalancing or determining their asset allocation strategies,” said Bradley Smith, Partner and NEPC Corporate Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution consultant. “With rising concerns about how corporate profits will likely impact the market in the year ahead, our priority right now is helping ensure that our pension and defined contribution clients are well equipped to mitigate risk and have a clear plan of action in 2023 and beyond.”
Other notable findings include the following:
- The majority of respondents have an established glide-path. 49% of respondents have a one-way (de-risking only) glide path, compared to 16% that utilize a two-way (de-risking and re-risking) glide path. 35% of respondents indicated they are not currently utilizing a glide path.
- Most plan sponsors are not currently rebalancing back to existing targets. 23% of respondents are only partially rebalancing back to targets, with 21% of respondents delaying rebalancing until the market stabilizes. Only 35% of respondents are rebalancing to existing targets. Notably, 0% of plan sponsors are re-risking.
- Smaller pensions (less than $1 billion AUM) are more likely to consider a Pension Risk Transfer (PRT). Overall, 15% of respondents are either moving forward with some form of PRT while 21% are considering some form of PRT in the near future. 80% of those respondents considering a PRT say the current market environment has not impacted their views. 77% of pension plans with over $1 billion in assets are not currently considering any PRT activity.
This survey was conducted online by NEPC’s Corporate Defined Benefit Practice in September 2022. For the full results of this survey, click here.
For more information on NEPC’s Corporate Defined Benefit Practice, click here.
NEPC, LLC
NEPC, LLC, is one of the country’s leading investment consulting firms, servicing 403 retainer clients with $1.5 trillion in assets1 with $301.2 billion in alternative assets2. 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 As of 4/1/2022
2 As of 12/31/2021, NEPC provides some form of advice to all clients counted but does not advise all clients on all asset classes.
PlanSponsor: DCIIA Announces Three New Advisory Councils
NEPC’s Bill Ryan was announced as chair of the newly created Institutional Consultant Advisory Council (ICAC), as part of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) in a recent PlanSponsor article. View the announcement on PlanSponsor’s site here.
The Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association announced today that its Retirement Research Center has created three new Advisory Councils: Plan Sponsor Advisory Council (PSAC), Advisor Institute Council (AIC) and Institutional Consultant Advisory Council (ICAC).
DCIIA also announced the new chairs for each council. Christina Elliott, the Executive Director of Ohio Deferred Compensation, will chair PSAC. Jim O’Shaughnessy, the President of Retirement and Private Wealth at Hub International, will chair AIC. Bill Ryan, a partner and Head of Defined Contribution Solutions at NEPC, will chair ICAC.
The three new councils will join the Academic Advisory Council (AAC).
“The Advisory Councils are a crucial component of our strategy around research and industry engagement,” said Lew Minsky, DCIIA president and CEO. He added the councils will be focused on “practical, actionable, and unbiased insights that are relevant to the entire retirement ecosystem.”
“The Councils have a critical role to play in ensuring that all industry stakeholders’ viewpoints, needs, and challenges are considered throughout the research lifecycle,” said Rob Austin, chair of the DCIIA Retirement Research Center Executive Committee.
PlanSponsor: Rising Interest Rates Top Institutional Investor Concerns
NEPC’s Brad Smith was featured in a recent PlanSponsor article to discuss the findings of our 2022 Governance Survey. View the article on PlanSponsor’s site here.
Rising interest rates, a potential economic recession and geopolitical tension are the top concerns impacting the portfolio construction of institutional investor organizations in the next six months, according to NEPC 2022 Governance Survey respondents.
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One reason for the emphasis on rising interest rates is the effect rates have on corporate pension funds. Unlike for many investors, “inflation is beneficial for most corporate pension plans,” explained Brad Smith, partner at NEPC and a member of the firm’s corporate defined benefit team, in an email. “Since most U.S. pension plans don’t offer [cost of living adjustment] benefit increases, higher levels of inflation can be a benefit to plan sponsors. “The most immediate impact from higher expected inflation is higher interest and discount rates. As discount rates rise, the estimated value of pension liabilities fall.”
Smith added, “Provided the remaining diversifying assets don’t fall as much as the liability estimates, the plan’s funded status can actually rise. During this recent market environment, we have seen many of our clients’ funded status estimates hold steady despite the significant market selloff.”
NEPC scored the factors, in a range from one to five, with factors expected to have the greatest impact ranked lower, according to the survey.
Click here to continue reading the full PlanSponsor article.
Markets Group: Investing in Private Equity in '23 Could Prove Challenging to Over-Allocated Institutions
NEPC’s Josh Beers was quoted in a recent Markets Group article to discuss the importance of vintage year diversification. View the article on the Markets Group site here.
Institutional investors should be eager to deploy capital into private equity in 2023. The asset class, after all, capitalized on the economic downturns at the start of the century and during the Great Financial Crisis to produce stellar returns.
Speaking to the investment committee of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS), Corina Sylvia English, a principal with consultant Hamilton Lane, said, “the data shows the best time to invest in the asset class is right now. You are buying into a business at a low point – that is a value driver for operational focus.”
Scott Nuttall, co-CEO of KKR, concurred. Speaking on the investment firm’s third quarter earnings call, he said that “in an environment like this, companies still need capital. And we find private capital tends to have less competition at a time like this. Public markets are more difficult. Corporate M&A is more challenged. So, we’ve got a lot of capital to put to work. Companies still need it.”
But numerous institutional investors – particularly public pension funds – may need to overcome challenges to be highly active private equity investors in the coming year. These includes being overallocated to the asset class, a reduction in distributions and fund stakes selling at a discount in the secondary market. Industry observers, though, say that it is a necessity for investors to continue investing in the asset class and maintain exposure to the 2023 vintage year.
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Josh Beers, a principal and head of private equity for NEPC, said institutional investors need to continue deploying capital into the private equity sector to ensure vintage year “diversification” within their portfolio. “It’s super important,” he said. “You can go through business cycles where there are some great opportunities and other cycles that are not great.” General partners, he said, on average take three years to deploy capital – a period in “which a lot can happen.”
Click here to continue reading the full Markets Group article.