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Investment policy has the greatest impact on results. Policy
issues for pensions and other sponsor-directed programs include a projection of
liabilities, return and risk objectives, asset allocation strategy, risk control
guidelines, manager selection procedures, and performance review benchmarks.
For participant-directed plans, employee education strategy takes the place of
asset allocation. Prudent sponsors create and maintain sound policy when
things are running well, in preparation for unforeseen performance problems.
Key Benefits
 | Saves time and money by focusing key decision-makers on the most important
issues. |
| Establishes sound process and principals that do not have to be revisited
every time a decision is required. |
| Provides a means of managing risk and other portfolio characteristics, not
just return. |
| Builds solid documentation for review by regulators and for staff
training. |
Typical Services
- Investment Policy Review
- A complete investment policy statement customized to your unique needs
and circumstances, or provide a professional review and update for your
existing statement. The statement will be based on a thorough analysis
of your current investment strategy and governance practices, not a
boilerplate document.
- Asset Allocation Study
- An analysis of the risk and return potential of your current investment
program, with specific recommendations on changes to your asset allocation
strategy. We assess how closely the plan's strategy matches actuarial
liability projections and other similar plans, and consider the potential
impact on pension cost and income for the sponsor.
- Asset-Liability Study
- A more thorough project including projection of liabilities under
various economic scenarios, projection of the level and volatility of plan
funding, and a full asset allocation study.
- Fiduciary Review
- A study of the governance practices of the investment program, where we
cite specific areas of compliance concerns and recommend action steps to
improve investment decision-making. Typically includes high-level
analysis of current investment managers, review of committee structure and
documentation, critique of investment policy, and assessment of employee
communication and 404(c) compliance as applicable.
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