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