Boston 25 News: NEPC's Sarah Samuels Discusses Her Children's Book 'Braving Our Savings'
NEPC’s Sarah Samuels spoke with Boston 25 News Anchor Vanessa Welch about her new children’s book, “Braving Our Savings”. Watch the segment below:
NEPC Hires Former PGIM Principal To Lead DC Solutions
BOSTON– April 1, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)– NEPC, LLC, one of the industry’s largest independent investment consulting firms, overseeing $1.6 trillion in assets under management and advisement, announced that Mikaylee O’Connor will join the firm as Principal, Head of Defined Contribution (DC) Solutions, effective April 1st, 2024. O’Connor will be responsible for leading the way NEPC’s DC practice delivers innovative and creative solutions to clients. As the retirement space continues to evolve, O’Connor, in addition to serving clients, will oversee NEPC’s DC plan trends research and data analytics, guiding strategic initiatives related to target date funds, managed accounts, retirement income solutions, and other investments that are vital to the retirement outcomes of participants. She will report directly to Bill Ryan, Partner, Defined Contribution Team Leader.
“As a team, we are focused on helping our clients navigate and leading the discussion around issues relating to retirement income,” said Bill Ryan, NEPC’s Partner, Defined Contribution Team Leader. “Mikaylee’s extensive experience and deep expertise working with a diverse client set will position NEPC to continue identifying innovative solutions that help alleviate those concerns.”
Before joining NEPC, O’Connor was a Principal, Senior Defined Contribution Strategist within PGIM DC Solutions. She provided thought leadership to clients and supported the development of forward-thinking solutions designed to improve participant outcomes. Prior to that, O’Connor spearheaded RVK’s DC practice as their Head of DC Solutions overseeing strategic direction and growth of the practice. Her unique perspective will continue elevating NEPC’s DC Solutions platform as an industry-leading consultant and trusted partner.
As a thought leader in the DC space, Mikaylee sits on the DCIIA Operating and Executive Committees and has been influential across many other industry groups, such as NAGDCA, where she is on their Legislative Committee.
“Joining NEPC’s esteemed and innovative team marks an exciting phase in my career,” said O’Connor. “We are currently undergoing a unique transition in the retirement space. I am eager to contribute to the firm’s trajectory and partner with our DC team and clients to lead the creation and delivery of world-class DC solutions.”
About NEPC, LLC
NEPC is an independent investment consultant, private wealth advisor, and OCIO provider serving over 400 retainer clients and $1.6 trillion in total assets. Combining a proprietary investment 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 families. To learn more about NEPC, visit nepc.com.
Pensions & Investments: Mikaylee O'Connor Joins NEPC as Head of Defined Contribution Solutions
NEPC was featured in a recent Pensions & Investments article to highlight our latest Principal hire, Mikaylee O’Connor. View the article on Pensions & Investments’ site here.
Mikaylee O’Connor has joined investment consultant NEPC as principal and head of defined contribution solutions effective April 1, succeeding partner Bill Ryan who has been promoted to defined contribution team leader, a new position.
. . .
At NEPC, “I will be delving more into marketplace solutions,” she said. “I will be more directly involved with clients.”
She identified retirement income solutions, the impact of technology on plan management and plan governance as three areas of interest. Technology, for example, can be used to “better customize solutions” and can “improve participant engagement and outcomes,” she said.
Click here to continue reading the full Pensions & Investments article.
FIN News: NEPC Hires DC Solutions Head
NEPC’s Mikaylee O’Connor was featured in a recent FIN News article highlighting her new role as Head of Defined Contribution Solutions. View the article on FIN News’ site here.
Mikaylee O’Connor has joined investment consultant NEPC as principal and head of defined contribution solutions, the firm announced.
O’Connor will lead NEPC’s defined contribution practice and also oversee its defined contribution plan trends research and data analytics, guiding strategic initiatives related to managed accounts, retirement income solutions, target date funds and other investments, according to the firm.
. . .
“As a team, we are focused on helping our clients navigate and lead the discussion around issues relating to retirement income,” [Bill] Ryan said, in a statement. “Mikaylee’s extensive experience and deep expertise working with a diverse client set will position NEPC to continue identifying innovative solutions that help alleviate those concerns.”
NEPC has $1.6 billion in assets under management and advisement, according to the firm.
PlanSponsor: Gen Z Employees Show Affinity for Increased Personalization in TDFs
NEPC’s 2023 DC Plan Trends & Fee survey results were quoted in a recent PlanSponsor article which discusses how Gen Z employees exhibit a preference for heightened personalization in Target Date Funds (TDFs), emphasizing the importance of tailored investment options for this demographic. View the article on PlanSponsor’s site here.
Young 401(k) participants were the most likely to share personal information to help tailor their retirement investments to their needs and goals, according to new Cerulli data.
. . .
“Cerulli also found that 45% of TDF managers surveyed already allow participants to transition from a TDF to a managed account at a specific threshold, such as age or account balance. A recent NEPC survey found that while 43% of plans offer managed accounts and fees have come down by about 20% to 40% over the second half of 2023, only 5% of participants use the accounts.”
Read the full article on Plan Sponsor’s website here.
Pensions & Investments: DC Plans Wrestle with Cost, Complexity and Other Concerns when Considering In-Plan Retirement Income Solutions
NEPC’s Bill Ryan was quoted in a recent Pensions & Investments article to discuss in-plan retirement solutions and how the data from our 2023 DC Plan Trends & Fee survey supports his solution. Excerpts from the article are shown below. View the article on Pensions & Investments’ site here.
Despite benefiting from regulatory and commercial advances designed to make in-plan retirement solutions more attractive, defined contribution executives continue to wrestle with concerns about cost and complexity as well as compatibility among employers and record keepers.
. . .
To consultant William Ryan, the solution to an in-plan solution is hiding in plain sight: a target date series with a systematic distribution of assets upon retirement.
Ryan is a partner and head of defined contribution plan solutions at NEPC, which recently released an annual survey on DC plan trends and fees showing that people over 65 hold 45% of their assets in target-date funds. Among that age group, 68% have retired or left their employers.
“Unfortunately, only 26% have activated systematic distributions, but 26% is wildly greater than the 4% to 5% who annuitize,” Ryan said.
. . .
The words “retirement income” or “lifetime income” are subject to different interpretations, Ryan added. To NEPC, the words retirement income simply mean “getting money out of the plan to fund a paycheck,” he said. “It doesn’t need to mean guaranteed and it probably shouldn’t mean guarantee, insured, or annuity.”
However, “lifetime income” has become a synonym for “guaranteed income” — words that are “creatively interchanged by insurance companies,” he said.
“This is why we at NEPC think the industry has communicated the success and objective of retirement income very wrong,” Ryan added. “The narrative has become hyperfocused on needing to add commercial insurance to DC plans, when most participants are entitled to government retirement insurance via Social Security, and some get employer retirement insurance via a pension plan.”
Click here to continue reading the full Pensions & Investments article.
Pensions & Investments: DOL Names New ERISA Advisory Council Members, Chair
NEPC’s Bill Ryan was mentioned by Pensions & Investments for his appointment by the Department of Labor to the ERISA Advisory Council. Excerpts from the article are shown below. View the article on Pensions & Investments’ site here.
“The Department of Labor appointed five members to its ERISA Advisory Council…”
. . .
The council’s new appointees, who will each serve three-year terms, are:
- William E. Ryan III, head of defined contribution for investment consultant, NEPC
- Anusha Rasalingam, a partner at law firm Friedman & Anspach
- Charles B. Wolf, a retired shareholder of law firm Vedder Price who teaches employee benefits law at the University of Chicago Law School
- Regina T. Jefferson, a law professor at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
- Kathleen McBride, an accredited investment fiduciary analyst, and founder and president of FiduciaryPath
Click here to continue reading the full Pensions & Investments article.
PlanSponsor: Rise in TDF Popularity Causes Core Menus to Shrink
NEPC’s 2023 DC Plan Trends & Fee survey results were featured in a recent PlanSponsor article which discusses how because target–date funds represent a large and growing share of plan assets, plan sponsors are narrowing their core investment menus. View the article on PlanSponsor’s site here.
“The rising popularity of target-date funds in defined contribution plans has led to a reduction in the number of core menu investment options, according to a new NEPC survey.
After surveying 240 DC plans, of which the average plan had $1.5 billion in assets, NEPC’s 2023 DC Plan Trends and Fee Survey revealed that 97% of plans offer TDFs and that, on average, 47% of plan assets are invested in TDFs.
As a result, the core menu is shrinking. For example, in 2010, when an average of 28% of assets were invested in TDFs, that meant 72% of assets were invested in offerings in the core menu. However, by 2023, assets in TDFs had steadily increased to reach that 47% figure, meaning only 53% of assets are now invested in the core menu, NEPC found. “
. . .
“Bill Ryan, a partner in NEPC and head of its DC team, says the industry has been telling the story that older participants are taking the most advantage of the core menu for a decade, but it may not necessarily be true anymore. As automatic enrollment has become more prevalent, Ryan says, more participants—across all ages—have invested more via target-date funds, which tend to be the default investment.
According to NEPC, close to 30% of plans have fewer than 10 core investment options, and Emma O’Brien, a principal in NEPC, predicts this trend toward streamlining will continue.
‘If you look across the different buckets where we’re breaking out the number of core options that are offered, equities compressed at a much faster rate relative to the other options that are offered, and I think that’s driven by the fact that, historically, there have been multiple flavors of active equity options within lineups,’ O’Brien says.”
. . .
“Target-date funds with systematic distribution allow us to provide a paycheck in retirement, which I call the Batman dilemma,” Ryan says. “[It’s] maybe not the hero that you want, but it’s the hero that you need right now.”
Read the full article on Plan Sponsor’s website here.
NEPC Survey Shows “Retirement Crisis” Is Real, But Resolvable
BOSTON–MARCH 5, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NEPC, LLC, one of the country’s largest research-driven investment consultants and OCIO providers, today published the 18th annual edition of its Defined Contribution (DC) Plan Trends and Fee Survey, which examines current plan investment trends, features, and innovations across major sectors, and how these plans have evolved over the years. Respondents to the 2023 survey include 128 clients representing $259 billion in aggregate assets and 2.6 million plan participants.
This year’s data shows that the tools needed to solve the “retirement crisis” already exist, with 86% of respondents currently offering their participants a retirement income solution — most often in the form of a Target Date Fund (TDF) paired with systematic distribution. The survey also highlights:
- An older contingency of plan participants than previously imagined, with 53% of participants over the age of 65 contributing to a TDF.
- Close to 30% of plans have less than 10 core options, and that group is growing since TDFs represent 47% of plan assets.
“Our job as retirement consultants is to maximize the solutions that work for the most people and operate around the margins,” says Emma O’Brien, a principal on NEPC’s DC team. “The data shows that, contrary to the media’s perception, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel because Target Date Funds work.”
The high demand for TDFs pushes plan sponsors to be purposeful with their offerings, leading to a decline in core options. The survey suggests that clients want to unshackle themselves from having 15-20 options as the role of a core lineup is becoming less important, freeing up the opportunity to lower fees.
“TDFs are built to support retirement income drawdown,” O’Brien says. “We’re making progress instead of adding to the noise.”
This year’s survey also revealed that fees for managed accounts have dropped more than 10% over the past year, due to an increase in lower cost providers, who are challenging established managed account providers on fees. Managed Accounts can add value for participants and aid in solving the retirement crisis when handled correctly.
“Fees have come down because we are actively pushing for lower costs,” says Bill Ryan, partner and head of NEPC’s DC team. “As a team, we have spent a lot of time educating clients on the role of managed accounts, what personalization means, and what level of personalization is right for them. All of those discussions have pointed to fees, negotiated or not, being too high.”
NEPC’s Defined Contribution (DC) Practice team will discuss the survey’s findings during a webinar on March 5, 2024. Those interested in hearing how DC consultants are advising plans to address emerging opportunities can register for the webinar here.
The 18th Annual Defined Contribution (DC) Plan Trends and Fee Survey results can be downloaded here.
About NEPC, LLC
NEPC is an independent investment consultant, private wealth advisor, and OCIO provider serving over 400 retainer clients and $1.6 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 families. To learn more about NEPC, visit nepc.com.
Media Contact:
Emma Rayder
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CNBC: A Growing Number of Colleges are Rolling Out ‘No-Loan’ Policies.
NEPC’s Colin Hatton sat down with Jessica Dickler at CNBC to discuss the current pressures institutions of higher education are facing, including the impact of declining tuition revenue. View the full article on CNBC’s site here.
Barring a $1 billion donation or broad-based student loan forgiveness, college is becoming a path for only those with the means to pay for it, many reports now show.
But some colleges have a new strategy to entice students wary of the high cost.
Roughly two dozen schools have introduced “no-loan” policies, which means they are eliminating student loans altogether from their financial aid packages.
. . .
“Nationwide, colleges continue to feel the consequences of fewer students and declining tuition revenue, according to Colin Hatton, senior consultant of NEPC’s endowments and foundations team. For the most part, college endowments have paid the price.
“The higher educational system is under stress,” Hatton said.”
Read the full article on CNBC’s website here.