BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NEPC, LLC, one of the industry’s largest independent, full-service investment consulting firms, today announced the election of three new Partners and the promotion of four new Principals effective January 1, 2019. “These individuals have all contributed to the success of NEPC and we fully expect that they will drive the future success of our firm,” said Michael Manning, Managing Partner of NEPC. The firm will now have 41 Partners and 16 Principals1.
The newly elected Partners include Lenia Ascenso, Kristen Colvin, and Kristine Pelletier, who bring a variety skills and knowledge to the leadership team. New Principals include Andrew Brett, Stacey Flier, Matt Rowell and Gary Wyniemko, who have demonstrated exceptional investment expertise and leadership throughout their careers. For more details on these individuals, please see the following paragraphs.
Partners
Lenia Ascenso joined NEPC in 2014 as Director of Discretionary Services and has over 20 years of investment experience primarily in operational and risk oversight roles. In October, Lenia expanded her role, managing both Performance Analytics and Discretionary Operations as the head of Portfolio Services. Prior to NEPC, Lenia worked in a variety of important roles in Fund Services at J.P. Morgan Chase, Hedge Fund Administration at Wellington Management Company LLP and Custody and Fund Accounting at Investors Bank and Trust. Lenia has helped us build out our OCIO platform and operational processes which strengthen our ability to grow in the discretionary space. She brings unique expertise in understanding how various investment vehicles function. Her combination of strategic leadership, management experience and operational knowledge have been the right combination to provide team and technical leadership to our OCIO business as well as other technical projects.
Kristen Colvin, CAIA, rejoined NEPC in April of this year and has over a dozen years of experience working with defined contribution (DC) plan sponsors. It is important to note that Kristen started her career at NEPC, spending six years on our Defined Contribution team, moving from an analytical role to a high impact DC Consultant during her tenure. Prior to rejoining the firm, Kristen worked at MFS Investment Management, where she spent time as a Director on the Consultant Relations team and a Director within the Investment Solutions Group. She also supported the firm’s institutional defined contribution business. Kristen is well-known as a thought leader in the DC market and a frequent presenter at major DC industry events, and we were fortunate to attract her back to NEPC. We are excited to have Kristen’s knowledge, experience and creative, client centric focus back at NEPC.
Kristine Pelletier (Krissy) joined NEPC in 2008 and has over 15 years of investment-related experience. Prior to NEPC she worked as an investment analyst at Wellington Management Company LLP. Krissy has been a long-term contributor and leader on the Endowment and Foundation Team and has made a big difference in our ability to attract and retain clients in this space. She has also made her mark in the ESG world, co-leading our Impact Investing Committee and taking her passion for this space to a new level, helping to establish NEPC as a leader in ESG and Impact investing. Krissy has been a consistent speaker at industry conferences and has strengthened the NEPC brand. Krissy is known for her strong presentation skills, her ability to mold and develop our consultant support team and her consistent participation in shaping the topics and delivery at our annual investment conference. Krissy also spends significant time outside of NEPC giving back through a leadership development program for students, reinforcing her personal commitment to the philanthropic efforts of her clients.
Principals
Andrew Brett, CAIA, joined NEPC in 2007 and continued to expand his roles and responsibilities, becoming a subject matter expert in Real Assets. Andrew is now the Director of the Real Assets Research Group and leads NEPC’s Real Assets Beta Group. The Real Assets team is responsible for developing market viewpoints, sourcing conducting manager due diligence, providing educational overview materials for various real asset and real estate strategies and constructing real asset investment plans for implementation in client portfolios. Andrew’s leadership has produced a well-oiled machine that assists with liquid real assets coverage including commodities, MLPs, natural resource equities and REITs. Andrew is consistently called upon to present to clients and prospective clients and is well regarded throughout the industry in this space. Prior to joining NEPC, Andrew worked at State Street Corporation. Andrew is member of the Alternative Asset Committee.
Stacey Flier, CFA, joined NEPC in 2017 as a Senior Consultant on our Private Wealth team with 25 years of experience advising ultra-high net worth individuals and family offices on their investment portfolios. Prior to joining NEPC, Stacey held the position of Director, Investment Advisory Services at CTC | myCFO. Stacey’s expertise is in structuring portfolios to maximize after-tax return, taking into consideration clients’ differing risk tolerances and delivering investment advice and education to clients on investment trends, opportunities and challenges. Stacey enjoys deep relationships with her clients, leading to additional growth and referrals for our Private Wealth team. She is a highly trusted advisor with a depth of experience, and that confidence and experience translates to a dedicated following of clients. Stacey is also a member of our Impact Investing Committee.
Matt Rowell joined NEPC in 2011 and has been a vital contributor to and leader of our Insurance advisory business. He facilitates asset allocation studies, manager searches, performance measurement, and various technical projects. His work spans multiple client types and investment pools, including health, life and property/casualty insurance, healthcare systems, defined benefit and defined contribution plans. Matt’s expertise includes portfolio construction, risk management and implementation of customized private markets programs. In addition to his consulting responsibilities, he is also a member of the Global Asset Allocation Research Advisory Group and Liability Driven Investing (LDI) Research Advisory Group. Prior to NEPC, Matt was a senior analyst at Wells Fargo & Company’s Alternative Strategies Group, Inc. He has also worked for Wachovia Corporation’s Evergreen Investments. Matt received his B.S. from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina.
Gary Wyniemko, CFA, joined NEPC in 2011 and brings over 15 years of investment expertise to our Philanthropic Practice Group focusing on healthcare clients, endowments and foundations. Prior to joining NEPC, Gary was a Senior Treasury Analyst at Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) in Detroit, MI. While at HFHS, Gary was responsible for asset allocation, manager selection and due diligence, performance reporting, investment research, and various aspects of financial reporting. Prior to his employment at Henry Ford Health System, Gary worked as a Corporate Treasury Analyst at Dura Automotive Systems, Inc., and as a Treasury Analyst at H&R Block Financial Advisors. Gary works with clients on overall fund design, including asset allocation, manager selection, performance reporting and monitoring, and education. Gary is particularly well-known for his expertise in working with highly complex healthcare clients.
About NEPC, LLC
NEPC® is an independent, full-service investment consulting firm, providing asset allocation, manager search, performance evaluation, and investment policy services. We work with discerning investors on both an advisory and discretionary basis. We service 241 retainer relationships2, representing assets of $1 trillion with approximately $61.8 billion in alternative assets, from our offices in Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Portland and San Francisco. We encourage your comments and feedback, as well as any inquiries you may have about our firm or our consulting services. Learn more at www.nepc.com.
1Stats as of 1/1/2019
2Stats as of 6/30/2018