Financial Services Firm OCIO Evaluation and Search
Client & Objective
A middle-market financial services firm with more than $1 billion across its defined contribution and cash balance pension plans engaged North Pier to lead an evaluation and search for an investment consultant. The Investment Committee wanted to assess both traditional advisory ERISA § 3(21) and discretionary ERISA § 3(38)/OCIO models and determine the best structure for supporting required fiduciary duties. Working with North Pier, the client refined their needs and objectives, focusing on fiduciary support, investment management, reporting, plan design guidance, fee transparency, and the provider’s ability to support the Committee’s responsibilities across both DC and DB retirement plans.
Process
With guidance from North Pier throughout the process, the Investment Committee clarified the priorities that mattered most across both the defined contribution and cash balance plans, while fully meeting their fiduciary duties under ERISA.
Those priorities were then translated by North Pier into a detailed RFP and an independent, comprehensive evaluation of a differentiated set of leading advice providers across the marketplace. This gave the Committee a consistent basis for evaluating whether a change in partners would materially improve the plans, or whether the existing relationship continued to provide the strongest overall combination of performance, service, and value.
Results
•The process led to negotiated enhancements, including a one-time credit, stronger participant communication support, draft investment meeting minutes, and periodic recordkeeper fee benchmarking at no additional cost.