Pensions & Investments: OCIO evaluators are ‘busier than ever’ with huge volume of searches amid policy fireworks
NEPC’s Scott Perry was recently quoted in Pensions & Investments discussing how the evolving corporate defined benefit landscape is reshaping the OCIO space. Visit Pensions & Investments to read the full article and explore how firms are navigating this shifting environment – or read the excerpts below.
An unusually volatile policy environment this year is accentuating the governance charms of outsourced CIOs and swelling the ranks of institutional plan sponsors looking to hire one, market veterans say.
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The way the corporate DB space is evolving, it’s becoming almost project-based in some ways, agreed Scott Perry, a partner and head of OCIO portfolio strategy with NEPC. “You’re going to partner with them for maybe two or three years, helping them get to an end state where they are offloading their plan,” he said.
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Pensions & Investments: CalPERS joins growing wave of pension funds offloading private equity stakes as sales volume hits record
In this Pensions & Investments article, NEPC’s Scott Perry discusses how institutional investors are reassessing private equity investments made in higher-valuation years and turning to secondaries as a strategic portfolio management tool. View the full article on Pensions & Investments’ site here or read excerpts below.
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System is exploring plans to reenter the secondary market sales arena, joining a growing list of public pension funds and endowments selling portions of their private equity portfolios.
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While the current moment isn’t marked by the kind of distress asset owners felt during the global financial crisis, a number of big institutional investors still “find themselves overweight to private equity and also have sizable allocations to vintages they don’t have a lot of conviction in,” said Scott Perry, a partner with Boston-based consulting and investment firm NEPC, and head of portfolio strategy for the firm’s $130 billion outsourced CIO business.
“Think 2019, 2020, 2021 — vintages and investments that were made with higher valuations,” Perry said. “And they now have a view that those investments are unlikely to be really strong, successful investments, and so they’re looking to get out (to) free up the capital for investment today, rather than hold on to it and end up with mediocre outcomes,” he said.
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Pensions & Investments: Demand Growing, but Searching and Hiring Not Necessarily Easier
NEPC’s Steve Charlton was quoted in a recent Pensions & Investments article which focuses on the recent popularity of OCIOs and the challenges institutions are now facing logistically when transitioning from their current solution to an OCIO. View the article on Pensions & Investments’ site here.
The growing popularity of OCIOs is making it easier for asset owners to access the right providers, but sources are split over whether the search and hiring process is getting easier for institutions.
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TIFF Advisory, a subsidiary of TIFF Investment Management, had $8.3 billion in outsourced AUM as of March 31, up 6.4% from a year prior.
But Steve Charlton, Boston-based head of client solutions and partner at NEPC LLC, countered that the hiring process is not getting easier.
“The growth of third-party evaluation firms as the stewards of OCIO searches has required the OCIO industry to invest in additional resources and capabilities to answer more in-depth questions coming from TPEs,” he said in an email. “TPEs generally take a deeper dive during the due-diligence process relative to asset owner-driven RFPs, so the hiring process is not getting easier in the OCIO space.”
NEPC reported $61.5 billion in outsourced AUM as of March 31, slightly below its $61.7 billion figure a year prior.
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NEPC Survey Finds Institutions Want More OCIO Services But Gaps Exist
BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– NEPC, a leading research-driven investment consultant with $1.5 trillion in assets under advisement, today published its 2022 Governance Survey, which examines how institutions like pensions, endowments and foundations, and healthcare organizations are making strategic investment decisions and engaging with investment consultants to preserve and grow their capital across different asset classes and market cycles.
This year’s survey showcases data from 247 respondents, 47% of which are senior executives within their organization, while 28% serve on their organization’s board or investment committee.
The data across all respondents shows a desire for more OCIO services from investment consultants. Currently, 12% of respondents say their most trusted advisor handles everything like an OCIO. 17% of respondents expect their most trusted advisors to perform the role of investment manager that handles everything like an OCIO in the next 5-7 years.
However, the new report also showcases potential gaps in the OCIO market. When comparing NEPC’s 2018 Governance Survey to 2022, the data shows that expectations haven’t materialized. In 2018, respondents believed the share of trusted advisors acting as an OCIO would increase to 15% by 2023. The general survey results mask a decided shift toward OCIO for certain market segments, including endowments, foundations, healthcare, and defined contribution relative to 2018, and likely increased migration in the years ahead.
“As investment programs have grown over the past several years, we’ve also seen firsthand the increased desire and need for ways to streamline management and operational functions,” said Steve Charlton, Partner and Head of Client Solutions. “There are often good reasons to maintain trusted advisory relationships, which has slowed the overall progression to OCIO. Some clients look to maintain decision-making responsibility or hand off only portions of the governance process, whereas others have decided to move entirely to OCIO. We believe advisory and OCIO can co-exist within our firm and intend to provide the best services consistent with our clients’ objectives.”
Beyond OCIO relationships, the data also helps show how institutions are remaining committed to their ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) investment goals even amid a tough economic landscape. While data shows that more than half of respondents expect an economic recession and 67% are concerned about rising interest rates, the survey also shows:
- 80% of all respondents said it is important to incorporate DEI in their investment program, with 18% saying it is extremely important.
- Healthcare organizations were more likely to believe that incorporating DEI in their investment programs is a top priority, with 29% of these respondents saying it is extremely important.
- Alternatively, pensions and insurance organizations were slightly less likely to recognize the importance of incorporating DEI into their investment programs, as 23% of these respondents stated DEI was not an important piece of their program.
For more information about NEPC’s, click here, and about NEPC’s OCIO Services, here. To download the full results of NEPC’s 2022 Governance Survey, click here.
ABOUT NEPC, LLC
NEPC, LLC, is one of the country’s leading investment consulting firms, servicing more than 400 retainer clients with $1.5 trillion in assets with $301.2 billion in alternative 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.