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Public defined benefit plans

We partner with federal, state, and local plans to help support the financial well-being of hundreds of thousands of public workers, educators, and first responders.

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54

years building partnerships with US public plans

116

US public plan clients

70%

of top 20 US public plans partner with us

USD 43.8 B

US public plan assets entrusted to us

As of 31 June 2023

How we work with public plans

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Researchers

We put ourselves in plan sponsors' shoes and conduct timely, relevant asset allocation analysis.

allocators
Allocators

We draw on a wide range of investments, including equity, fixed income, real asset, liquid alternative, private, and opportunistic strategies.

portfolio-managers
Portfolio managers

We serve as a fiduciary for strategies in every asset class, including custom solutions to client objectives.

strategic-partners
Strategic partners

We collaborate with plan sponsors on their goals across their organization.

Meet our Public Plan experts

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Adam Berger, CFA
Head of Multi-Asset Strategy

Our public plan research is led by Adam Berger, head of Multi-Asset Strategy. He develops research from an allocator’s perspective, advises clients and prospects on a range of investment policy and governance issues, and serves as the portfolio manager for bespoke multi-manager investment solutions. In this role, he meets regularly with plans sponsors and shares his latest thinking in his quarterly Top of Mind webcast, as well as a wide range of articles and white papers. Click here to learn more about his research.

Amy  Morse

Amy Morse, CFA
Director of Pension Strategies and Relationship Manager 

As director of Pension Strategies, Amy is responsible for identifying, sharing, and acting on major trends in the pension marketplace. She works closely with various groups across Wellington to ensure that the firm is positioned to be a go-to resource and provide solutions to public DB plans. Amy also serves as a relationship manager for our public DB plan clients, helping to bring to bear our full range of resources and services on their behalf. These services include assisting with long-term investment strategy and policy issues, evaluating portfolio risks and performance, and ensuring compliance with policy guidelines and applicable regulations.

Our top 10 ideas for public pensions in 2024

Adam and Amy offer a proposed priority list for 2024 based on recent conversations with public plans.

  • Understand your US mega-cap positioning (a topic covered here).
  • Consider whether you are too underweight value/defensive (“defensive” may look different when rates are high).

  • Key areas to consider include small cap, non-US, emerging markets, and China. 
  • Set a policy target and rebalancing policy while pursuing alpha.
  • Find insights on rebalancing approaches here.

  • Equity ideas include active extension (130/30) strategies, portable alpha strategies, and lower-risk active strategies in place of passive.
  • Fixed income portfolios might benefit from more dynamism and/or a broader opportunity set.

  • Hedge funds could serve as a fixed income complement (read our research).
  • Absolute-return-oriented fixed income strategies may diversify better than index-based strategies.

  • Re-underwrite core private equity exposures for today’s environment.
  • Review real estate and infrastructure portfolios, especially where heavily levered.
  • Consider any potential impact on hedge funds, although we believe it will be minimal.

  • Ensure you have ample liquidity to meet spending needs.
  • Ensure you have ample liquidity to meet portfolio needs (margin calls, capital calls, rebalancing).
  • A simple approach to liquidity testing is discussed here.

  • Some long-running trends could run for another year or reverse sharply.
  • Invest time in governance to increase the likelihood of good decision making.
  • Consider opportunistic and “drawdown” strategies in case of a liquidity crisis.
  • Read up on ideas for a late-cycle environment.

  • How can tools and resources help your team and portfolio?
  • What is the investment opportunity?
  • Our colleagues are thinking about the economic and bond market impact of AI. 

  • Consider one or two changes that will have the biggest impact (perhaps from the list above).
  • Implement a “reference portfolio” benchmark.

Research spotlight: Stepping stone ideas

Our public plan research agenda includes ideas aimed at helping plans close the gap between high return targets and low expected market returns. This includes “stepping stones” — incremental changes that can potentially improve returns without significantly increasing risk, such as:

  • Adding exposure to inflation-sensitive assets and strategies
  • Taking advantage of thematic and opportunistic investments
  • Allocating to fixed income complements, such as private credit and absolute return/total return hedge funds 

To learn more about the latest set of "stepping stone" ideas, read the white paper or watch the video.

Check out ADAM'S latest Insights

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