Pension Management for Multiemployers

Multiemployer defined benefit plans have undergone significant changes over the past several years. Well-funded plans that allowed trustees to consistently increase benefits have become unhealthy plans challenged to keep pace with promised benefits. Challenging capital markets, decreased interest rates and a less reliable quantity of hours worked have converged to require increased contributions to fund fewer benefits. Further, the level of scrutiny on how these plans are managed means labor and management trustees must perform more due diligence to ensure sound decision making.

An Integrated, Objectives-Based Approach to Pension Management

The foundation of SEI’s PensionConnect 360™ for Multiemployer Plans is our leading Manager of Managers investment process. SEI’s Manager of Managers is a solid, time-tested process that offers significant benefits to institutional investors. Within the pension fund management process, SEI takes responsibility for the portfolio structure, manager selection, manager evaluation, and manager replacement within a certain asset class or across the entire investment portfolio.

A Manager of Managers process retains the independence and oversight of the consulting process while delivering significant time savings and accountability for the results with benefits that include:

• More cost-effective diversification across world-class managers
• Risk management through volatility control
• Strategies to enhance potential return while minimizing risk
• Shared fiduciary responsibility
• Administrative simplification

A Continuous, Proactive Approach

SEI views the partnership with our client as a continuous, ongoing process. Our multiemployer pension professionals meet with clients on a regular basis to ensure their solution still meets the stated objectives and, if not, to assist in making adjustments where necessary.

Enhanced Level of Fiduciary Protection

While the traditional consultant model provides direction for the pre-screening and evaluation of investment managers, a consulting firm will typically disclaim who they are “recommending,” leaving the full fiduciary responsibility on the shoulders of the plan trustees. Unlike the traditional consultant model, SEI takes on full fiduciary responsibility by sharing equally in liability for the overall plan structure and investment manager implementation.

A History of Innovation and Leadership

SEI has a nationally dedicated multiemployer plan business unit and more than 20 years of experience with multiemployer plans. Previously, SEI operated as the largest institutional pension consultant.

Today, as one of the largest Manager of Managers in the United States, SEI is a leader in delivering comprehensive investment solutions to multiemployer plans. The SEI solution emphasizes holistic advice combined with complete downstream implementation to ensure that our clients’ plans run efficiently, receive the highest quality investment, and support the overall organizational strategy.