NEPC, LLC

NEPC begins every private wealth relationship by learning about our clients, their family and their goals for the future.  Many wealthy families and their family office professionals have turned to us to not only help them design and implement a successful investment program, but also to fulfill their non-investment goals such as philanthropy and multi-generational investment education.  Our goal is to serve our clients’ needs while achieving strong long term investment returns.  

Whether it is the financial markets, tax planning or estate planning, the ever increasing complexities faced by families today require a comprehensive consulting approach to ensure the efficient operation and performance of their investment programs.  We take pride in working with family members, staff, attorneys and accountants by leveraging our substantial research resources.  In order to facilitate this process, our client relationships are characterized by ready accessibility to our staff and resources and a high level of direct client contact.  

We recognize that each client’s wealth has its own unique set of goals and return requirements that may change over time.  NEPC Private Wealth Management capitalizes on our expertise in the traditional financial markets and alternative investment strategies to develop and maintain the optimal investment plan for each client’s unique situation. 

NEPC’s full lines of investment consulting and discretionary services are designed to address every phase of the investment process, including:  •  Investment policy development and risk control, for financial and alternative assets;•  Strategic asset allocation, asset and spending and scenario-based return assumptions, including risk budgeting;•    Tactical asset allocation to take advantage of specific market opportunities and/or undervalued asset classes;•  Scenario analysis to understand how the portfolio may perform under multiple “stressed” market environments;•  Liquidity analysis to ensure that needs for spending and gifting are met;•  Research on innovative solutions to meet  specific investment needs, including portable alpha, risk parity, global asset allocation, hedging and risk management;•  Investment manager and custodian searches, including due diligence, for financial and alternative assets;•  Performance analysis for the total portfolio, individual portfolios, each asset class, and each manager;•  Discretionary services, and;•  Client education. 

Our clients demand more, and so do we.  Each client is unique and, as a result, has unique investment goals.  We listen closely and customize our solutions to pursue our clients’ goals with intelligence and rigor.  Customization is an aspect of collaboration, as we see it, and it’s a hallmark of who we are. 

Our investment philosophy is to create outstanding returns centered on risk awareness.  We always begin by assessing each client’s ability to take risk and ask, “What can go wrong?”  By understanding a client’s goals, we can develop thoughtful asset allocation strategies to achieve our client’s return goals within their risk tolerance.  

Following a traditional path can be entirely appropriate in building a particular portfolio.  That said, we do not shy away from assessing and introducing market innovations when they are a better approach.  Expect our analysis to be thorough and our recommendations to be made with conviction.  Our client portfolios are typically broadly diversified across the global landscape, across and within both traditional and alternative asset classes and strategies.  We proactively build investment programs with long term strategic asset allocations; however, we will recommend that clients make tactical asset allocation shifts when significant opportunities or risks exist in the markets.  By demanding more, we strive to continuously improve our clients’ portfolios.  

NEPC seeks to be the Institutional Investment Consulting Firm of Choice by providing customized, research-driven solutions and innovative strategies to meet each client’s needs. 

We pursue this goal through outstanding investment professionals who wish to make a difference in our industry and do so without bias and divided loyalties.   

We will continue to grow our research platform and to attract and retain the individuals who have historically set NEPC apart from our competitors.

NEPC believes in providing:

•  The highest quality of product and service for our CLIENTS. •  Challenging career opportunities for our PEOPLE. •  A work environment that fosters TEAMWORK.•  QUALITY through continuous improvement. •  INTEGRITY in all that we say and do. •  PROFITABILITY for the continued success and growth of our Company and the financial wellbeing of our employees.  

All of NEPC’s clients are supported on a team basis, typically consisting of a “lead” consultant who will attend all meetings and be the point person in the relationship.  In addition, a “backup” consultant is assigned to each relationship to ensure continuity of service.  A consultant support analyst will also assist the consultants with ongoing projects and management of day to day requests. In delivering our consulting services, these team members will leverage the expertise of professionals in other areas of the firm as well. 

We are very sensitive to the servicing requirements of current and prospective clients and have regularly turned down new business opportunities until the necessary staff has been put into place. 

The ideal client has an understanding of their own investment objectives, is willing to capitalize on the market inefficiencies and has a long-term view.  The ideal client has the ability to differentiate between the marketing hype and the merits of the proposed strategy and investment offerings.

Our focus has been and will continue to be providing independent, customized best-in-class services for our clients.  We are willing to dedicate the resources necessary to ensure success, typically at our expense.  This overriding client focus has driven every major tactical and strategic decision taken by our firm.  The following typifies this overriding promise to our clients: 

True independence•  The independent, employee-owned, full-service governance of our firm•  A fiduciary commitment to our clients

Demonstrated results•  NEPC’s collective client base has outperformed the InvestorForce/ICC median* in 25 of the 29 years since our founding in 1986.•  Effective implementation of active, passive and alternative asset mandates•  High marks from clients for overall satisfaction

Client focused, customized approach•  Proactive services customized and tailored to unique client needs•  Delivering proactive, custom decisions for client portfolios

*The median fund in the $3.5 trillion InvestorForce Universe (or the ICC Universe through 2011) represents average performance among a nationwide sample of plan sponsor results. 

Client communication takes place via face to face meetings, video conferences, conference calls and email.  We meet at least quarterly in person with almost all of our clients; certain clients we meet with on a monthly basis.  How the consultant team communicates with the client is based on the needs of the client and what the client views to be most efficient.  

Since all of our relationships are based on a team approach, each client has a consulting team and dedicated analysts; all team members will communicate with the client.  However, all communications may also be directed through one team member if the client prefers.  As clients get to know us better, they often feel comfortable contacting team members with specific expertise (e.g., a member of our research team) while copying their consulting team as well.  We encourage our clients to get to know the various members of their team to help build continuity; the easiest way for this to happen is usually by having the lead consultant coordinate activities and be aware of inquiries and requests.  That said, we are flexible to the needs of the client.   

NEPC conducts educational programs for all of its clients.  These sessions are customized for each client and have run from one half day in length to three days in length, depending on their frequency and the topics covered.  Samples of some of our education pieces include: direct hedge funds versus hedge fund of funds; private equity strategies, structures and liquidity and understanding REIT funds.

NEPC also sponsors an Annual Investment Conference in Boston, Massachusetts each spring. Investment managers do not subsidize or underwrite NEPC’s investment conferences or workshops, thereby avoiding this potentially significant conflict of interest.  As part of the 2015 Investment Conference, NEPC conducted a half-day seminar for our private wealth clients.

We are extremely proactive in bringing new ideas and investment opportunities to clients, and are generally viewed as a thought leader in our field.  As a firm, we do this formally through our annual asset allocation letter, quarterly market thoughts, and monthly market updates, as well as through client webinars, and our annual investment conference.   We also frequently publish white papers on key investment topics including new investment opportunities.  In the last 2½ years, NEPC has published more than 30 white papers to its website (www.nepc.com) on topics ranging from new investment ideas to key market developments.

Many of our clients have unique sets of risk considerations inherent to their individual portfolios.  Thus, strength of our firm is the ability to customize and monitor portfolios according to these desired characteristics.

NEPC has a staff of over professional employees, all of whom are solely dedicated to the practice of investment consulting.  We are organized by practice teams to provide specialized consulting services to different fund types including private wealth clients.  NEPC’s Senior Consultants have an average of 22 years of investment experience.

NEPC encourages continued education to help our staff perform their duties and responsibilities better and assist with their career development.  NEPC has 46 CFA designation holders with 25 professionals pursuing the designation.  In addition, NEPC has 41 holders of the CAIA designation on staff with sixteen professionals pursuing the designation, as well as 75 employees with advanced degrees.   

NEPC has significant experience building alternative assets programs and identifying high quality private equity, hedge fund, opportunistic and real assets managers for our clients’ alternative investments programs.  NEPC has been actively working with client investments in alternative assets for the past 21 years and has the commitment, experience, and research resources to meet all of your alternative asset consulting needs.  We advise $82.8 billion in committed/invested alternative assets across 237 clients (as of 3/31/15).  Our alternative assets services include: education, portfolio design, manager search, due diligence reviews, and monitoring/reporting. Aside from the Alternative Assets Committee, which helps monitor the process, we have 29 full-time individuals dedicated to Alternative Investments led by Neil Sheth, Partner, Director of Alternatives Research, with additional support from Sean W. Gill, CFA, CAIA, Partner, who is responsible for alternative investments client strategy.  The Alternative Assets Group includes two principal groups, Private Markets and Absolute Returns.  Three people, including NEPC’s Chief Compliance Officer, William Y. Bogle, are focused primarily on operational due diligence of Hedge Fund and Fund of Hedge Fund managers and strategies.