Dakota Live! Podcast: Thinking Boldly with Chenae Edwards of NEPC
NEPC’s Chenae Edwards was interviewed by Dakota Live! in their recent podcast to discuss the NEPC manager research process, how clients are maneuvering through the current market environment, and her experience in working with non-profit institutions. Listen to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcast.
“Chenae Edwards, Partner with NEPC, LLC shares her investment consulting experience as she discusses the NEPC manager research process, how clients are maneuvering through the current market environment, and her experience in working with non-profit institutions. NEPC is one of the industry’s largest independent, full-service investment consulting firms, serving more than 400 clients with over $1.4 trillion in assets under advisement. With over 350 employees and over 400 clients across channel, NEPC’s five distinct practices and eight regional offices make it one of the more important consultants in the industry. Learn more about what has made NEPC so successful over the years, and how Chenae and her colleagues research and select their investment management partners.”
PlanSponsor: Robust Retirement Tiers Can Help Keep Participants In-Plan
NEPC’s Bill Ryan was quoted in a recent PlanSponsor article to discuss retirement plans and what can be done to support the goals of retirees and plan sponsors alike. View the article on PlanSponsor’s site here.
Workplace retirement plans may need to change their name—these days, more plan sponsors are looking for ways to serve their former employees even after they’ve quit working.
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“Bill Ryan, partner and head of defined contribution solutions at NEPC, says most plans already have the basic tools—the ability to make systematic withdrawals and investment options that can support near-term goals—necessary to serve their retirees.
“The retirement tier is an overwhelming topic that doesn’t have to be overwhelming,” Ryan explains. “We are closer to the answer than further away. Most plans have the building blocks for a retirement income tier; they just have to build on them.””
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“[Scott] Mayland says plan sponsors considering adding annuities must evaluate them with a fiduciary’s eye, making sure they understand all the features and the costs. Ryan says a simple way for plans to get started with annuities might be through a window that allows participants to select from a range of providers. For plan sponsors looking to add an annuity to the investment menu, a straightforward, plain-vanilla fixed annuity is likely the best approach for the widest demographic, he adds.”
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“The expansion of in-plan Roth accounts that will occur as additional SECURE 2.0 provisions go into place may further strengthen the case for a retirement tier.
“There is going to be an unintentional benefit from that long-term, because this group won’t need to take RMDs, and they may leave their money in longer,” Ryan says.”
Read the full article on Plan Sponsor’s website here.
Pensions & Investments: Institutional Investors Flush with Infrastructure Opportunities
NEPC’s Matthew Ritter was quoted in a recent Pensions & Investments article to discuss the growing interest institutional investors have had in infrastructure and renewable energy over the past decade. View the article on Pensions & Investments’ site here.
Institutional investor interest in infrastructure has grown steadily in recent years, but with more opportunities in renewable energy coupled with economic incentives borne out of the Inflation Reduction Act, more institutions are steering dollars to the asset class in a trend experts and managers expect to continue.
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Infrastructure interest among institutional investors has grown steadily over the last five or 10 years, said Matthew Ritter, Boston-based partner and head of real assets investments at investment consultant NEPC LLC.
Now, more institutional investors are replacing their energy private equity exposure, or at least new commitment dollars, with private infrastructure because of the new and appealing offerings in the asset class, Mr. Ritter said.
“As the infrastructure market has continued to grow and evolve, not just in terms of the number of managers and strategies, but really the breadth of strategies out there, there have been more attractive opportunities regardless of what your objectives are,” Mr. Ritter said.
There are plenty of reasons for institutional investors to consider investing in infrastructure today, such as yields, diversification or inflation hedging, he added.
With inflation elevated, Mr. Ritter said the focus on infrastructure and real assets broadly has increased, but NEPC and its clients take a long-term investing approach, “So investors are not typically adjusting their target allocations or dramatically increasing or decreasing investment volumes based on these sort of shorter-term market trends.”
Click here to continue reading the full Pensions & Investments article.
Pensions & Investments: Retirement Tiers Emerge from Hiding in DC Plans
NEPC’s Bill Ryan was quoted in a recent Pensions & Investments article which focuses on the ABA Retirement Fund’s investment tier for those approaching or in retirement. View the article on Pensions & Investments’ site here.
In December 2020, as the world grappled with the pandemic, the ABA Retirement Funds program — a retirement plan used by some 4,100 law firms and organizations connected with the practice of law — rolled out an investment tier designed specifically for retirees and those nearing retirement.
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The majority of plan sponsors already offer retiree-focused investments but haven’t spent the time to package and market them as a retirement tier, said Bill Ryan, a partner and head of defined contribution solutions at NEPC LLC in Chicago.
Plan sponsors haven’t gone the extra step of saying, “Of the 10 options we provide, these three are the best to use for short-term needs in retirement to draw down,” he said. “The majority are not marketing it, even though they have the parts.”
Mr. Ryan cited NEPC client data showing that 76% of plan sponsors offer stable value funds, 43% offer money market funds, and almost a third offer inflation-protection funds, three of the essential building blocks in a retirement tier.
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For some consultants, the traditional target-date fund, which is pervasive in plans, is the ultimate retirement tier, even though it isn’t marketed as such.
“We believe that the No. 1 retirement income solution is a target-date fund plus systematic distribution as the first line of defense,” Mr. Ryan said.
While the target-date fund feels like a “vanilla concept,” it is “probably the best option in retirement because some professional has built a portfolio that’s targeting a 4%, 5% or 6% rate of return in retirement,” he said. “If an individual is taking out 4% or 5%, it matches the dividend that they need to draw for an income without depleting the balance in retirement.”
For Mr. Ryan, the target-date fund is akin to Batman. “It’s the hero we need; maybe not the hero we want,” he said.
Click here to continue reading the full Pensions & Investments article.
FIN News: NEPC Enhances DEI Rating System as Diverse Manager Usage Grows
NEPC was featured in a recent FIN News article which covered the launch of our new DEI Rating System which was announced in our 2022 DEI Progress – Part 1. View the article on FIN News’ site here.
401k Specialist Magazine: NEPC Finds Over Half of Clients Use Diverse Managers
NEPC was recently featured in a 401k Specialist Magazine article that dug into our 2022 DEI Progress – Part 1 which found that more clients are implementing DEI strategies and working with diverse managers. View the article on 401k Specialist Magazine’s site here.
Client exposure to diverse strategies is climbing, finds a new report by investment consultant and outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) provider NEPC.
Its latest report, the NEPC found that 59% of its clients use diverse managers, with diverse firms currently investing $40.4 billion in client assets and managing 182 client strategies. Currently, NEPC serves over 400 retailer clients and $1.4 trillion in total assets.
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Click here to continue reading the full 401k Specialist Magazine article.
Pensions & Investments: NEPC to offer DEI Ratings System for Money Managers
NEPC was featured in a recent Pensions & Investments article delving into our 2022 DEI Progress – Part 1 and highlighted our new DEI Rating System. View the article on Pensions & Investments’ site here.
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Mr. Forde said NEPC’s new ratings system could contribute to further progress on that score. “One of the benefits of the DEI ratings, moving forward … is that it puts the power of information back into the hands of clients,” he said.
“We have a myriad of different clients, we have a myriad of different opinions on how to incorporate DEI and other things into their investment process. DEI ratings give them the opportunity to look at their entire portfolio of managers, for us to provide our insights directly to … empower them to say, ‘this is important to us in this way’ and craft it how they see fit, or how they don’t, and so I think the DEI ratings … is really additive in this type of environment,” he said.
Click here to continue reading the full Pensions & Investments article.
USA Today: Need a Financial Advisor? These are the Top Firms to Consult.
We are thrilled to share that NEPC has been named on USA Today’s inaugural list of Best Financial Advisory Firms. NEPC was one of only 500 firms selected from over 32,000 firms in the U.S., based on the growth of AUM over the short and long term, and recommendations from clients and peers. View the full article and list on USA Today’s website here.
If you need help deciding what to do with your money in a volatile stock market and uncertain economy, the choices can be bewildering.
Financial adviser. Investment adviser. Broker. Financial planner. Certified financial planner.
An inaugural list of the Best Financial Advisory Firms of 2023, developed for USA TODAY by market research firm Statista, attempts to simplify the jumble.
FIN News: Opportunities to Improve Endowment Returns May Come As Private Markets Reset: Consultants
NEPC’s latest Insight “How Should The NACUBO-TIAA Report Impact Endowment Finances?” was recently covered in an article by FIN News to discuss our findings. View the article on FIN News’ site here.
The current state of private markets can create opportunities for smaller endowments to incorporate private equity into their portfolios, according to investment consultant NEPC.
“Disruption in private markets may open up opportunities to endowments. In our view, private markets will continue to reset throughout 2023, and lower valuations may provide attractive entry points,” the firm said, in a recent insight post that noted the financial success of larger higher education endowments is mainly due to private equity market exposure.
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While disruptions to private markets such as the recent bank closures have led to uncertainty, NEPC does not feel there is risk in the banking system but rather opportunities that may open up to endowments.
“Overall, banks are well capitalized. We think the recent closing of Silvergate Bank, Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank will prove to be isolated liquidity events that are largely the result of asset-liability mismatches relative to the deposit profile for each bank,” NEPC said.
“Historically, recession- and recovery-era vintage years have created some of the best opportunities to deploy capital to private equity,” according to the firm.
Yahoo Finance: MPowered Capital Closes First Fund to Invest in Diverse Talent in Private Alternative Markets
Congratulations to MPowered Capital for closing its first fund to invest in diverse talent in private alternative markets. At NEPC, we’re passionate about promoting diversity in the industry and are proud to join forces with MPowered in this mission. As Kristine Pelletier notes, we’ve seen firsthand how institutionalized 360-degree diversity programs lead to better results for clients, which is why we’re impressed with MPowered’s holistic approach and tailored structures for working with diverse talent. We’re thrilled to continue to support novel solutions in the industry and shifting the talent pool towards inclusivity. View the announcement on Yahoo Finance’s site here.
MINNEAPOLIS, April 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MPowered Capital (“MPowered”) today announced the final close of MPowered Capital Access Fund I (“the Fund”) with $110 million in committed capital. The Fund, which received support from institutional investors, including foundations, family offices, and the consultant community, seeks to generate superior risk-adjusted returns through investments in diverse talent in private alternatives.
As of the final close, the Fund has invested in or alongside 11 diverse investment managers, including L2 Point Management, Sidereal Capital, Kinzie Capital, and Collide Capital.
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Kristine Pelletier, Partner at NEPC, said: “NEPC is proud to invest in MPowered Capital Access Fund I and join MPowered in our collective efforts to increase access to diverse talent in all its forms. At NEPC, we’ve seen firsthand how institutionalized 360-degree diversity programs can lead to better results for our clients, which is why we were so impressed by MPowered’s holistic approach to working with diverse talent and the innovative, tailored structures they employ. We are excited to see such novel solutions coming to the marketplace focused on shifting the profile of the industry’s talent pool and increasing access points to the investment management industry.”
Read the full article on Yahoo Finance’s website here.