Full discretionary investment management search. We evaluate governance structure, investment philosophy, asset allocation approach, private markets capabilities, reporting, and fees.
Non-discretionary advisor search covering advisory scope, research capabilities, investment menu design, participant outcome focus, and committee support.
Targeted searches for private markets advisors (discretionary and non-discretionary), custom target date fund managers, and other specialist mandates. Includes private equity, private credit, real assets, and infrastructure specialists.
Evaluation and selection of PEP providers for plan sponsors considering the pooled model as an alternative to a single-employer plan. A growing area as the PEP market matures and expands. Includes review of governance structure, investment options, administrative services, and fees.
Trustee and custodian evaluation, selection, and fee negotiation for plan assets across all asset owner types.
Evaluation and selection of in-plan guaranteed income solutions for defined contribution plans.
Assessment of the services your investment consultant or OCIO is currently providing, benchmarked against what leading providers offer for plans of similar size and complexity.
Fees compared against Curcio Webb’s proprietary database of fees actually negotiated across hundreds of engagements, rather than published survey data.
Evaluation of investment committee governance, meeting cadence, documentation practices, and fiduciary process.
Review of investment program performance with attribution analysis to identify the sources of return and evaluate whether the advisor’s strategy is delivering on its objectives.
Ongoing oversight of discretionary investment managers, covering adherence to the investment policy statement, appropriate risk management, and competitive fee structures.
Evaluation and ongoing oversight of managed account providers within defined contribution plans.
Questions plan sponsors ask us most often about this work.
A 3(21) advisor provides non-discretionary guidance, and the investment committee retains final decision-making authority. A 3(38) OCIO takes on discretionary control and makes investment decisions on behalf of the plan. Both carry fiduciary responsibility, but the scope and liability differ significantly.
We suggest benchmarking every three to five years, or whenever there is a material change in plan assets, investment structure, or the advisor’s ownership. Regular benchmarking is a core component of fiduciary governance.
Curcio Webb manages the end-to-end RFP process: defining the scope, issuing the RFP to qualified firms, evaluating proposals, conducting finalist presentations, and supporting contract negotiation. The process typically takes 12 to 16 weeks.
We maintain a proprietary database of actual negotiated fees from hundreds of investment consulting engagements. We benchmark against real market terms, not published surveys, which provides a more accurate picture of what plans of comparable size and complexity are paying.
We work with a broad range of institutional asset owners: qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, defined contribution plans (401(k), 403(b)), corporate defined benefit plans (traditional and cash balance), Taft-Hartley and public sector pension plans, endowments, foundations, higher education institutions (public and private universities), insurance companies, and sovereign wealth funds. Our geographic experience includes U.S. domiciled plans and organizations with international structures in Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean, including Cayman Islands experience.
For OCIO engagements, we monitor adherence to the investment policy statement, evaluate investment performance and risk management, and benchmark fees on a recurring basis. For managed account providers, we assess participant outcomes, fee competitiveness, and the provider’s fiduciary oversight process.