175: "The Consultant’s Edge" - Are Investment Consultants Indispensable? With Michael Manning, CEO of NEPC
From the 1950s onwards, the foundations of investment consulting were laid, as pension funds and institutional investors sought professional guidance on asset allocation and portfolio management. This was enhanced in the 1960s & 70s by the introduction of Modern Portfolio Theory by Harry Markowitz and the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) by William Sharpe. Today, the investment consulting industry has become a vast cog in the investing machinery, increasingly extending its reach from institutional through to individual investors. In this interview, Michael Manning, CEO of NEPC, with nearly $2 trillion under advice, sits at the epicenter of these developments. We learn how the world of consulting has developed, the reasons behind its growth, how it has adapted, and its move into the individual market. Michael then discusses the investment terrain. Is the US peaking relatively, and what might that mean? How to assess passive versus active? Is private equity due to disappoint? And how to assess the risk/returns of private debt, infrastructure and real estate. The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders, IFM Investors, World Gold Council and LSEG. Sign up to our Newsletter | Follow us on LinkedIn | Watch on YouTube