Kweku Obed Speaking on NASP Defined Contribution Panel 6/15

June 08, 2016

On Wednesday, June 15, Kweku Obed will be speaking at the NASP Annual Pension and Financial Services Conference in Atlanta. He will be participating in the panel “Defined Contribution Investment Options: Is There Room for Small and Emerging Managers?” As the defined contribution (DC) market continues to grow as one of the largest retirement income sources for Americans, this panel will explore the growth and changes in the fund structures offered in DC plans. To date, DC plans have been dominated by large mutual funds and investment managers. As the trend continues for plans to “unbundle” plan administration and investment option decisions, customization of investment options should continue to grow in popularity.

Questions the panel will address include:
• Will plan sponsors who have been actively promoting diversity and small managers in their defined benefit plans start to incorporate those themes in their manager selection approach for DC plans?
• Are there potential partnership opportunities for large mutual funds and investment managers with small and emerging managers?

Kweku is the chair of the Marquette Associates defined contribution services group. Marquette provides defined contribution consulting services for more than 95 plans with $20 billion in assets, from corporate, public and Taft-Hartley clients to nonprofit and healthcare. Based on more than 20 years of experience and research, the Marquette approach to defined contribution plan stewardship focuses on helping plan sponsors adopt a robust governance and monitoring framework.

For more information about the Pension and Financial Services Conference, visit the NASP website.