OCIOs Hire Corporate Pension Staff to Gain Expertise, Attract Business
FundFire September 24, 2026
Outsourced chief investment officers are hiring former internal investment staff
from corporate pension plans they win mandates to build out their capabilities and
show other potential clients that they have experienced staff.
As a growing number of corporate plans outsource their investment management,
OCIOs competing to win mandates are using lift-outs of pension investment teams
to show other prospective corporate clients that they have qualified staff who can
offer a higher level of service.
“There’s definitely an opportunity to attract these teams and additional assets,” said
Chris Cutler, president of Manager Analysis Services. “If the team has proven
themselves as a trusted counterparty for managing pension assets at very large
clients, the more assets the OCIO can accumulate and the more credibility they will
have.”
Even though the number of companies with defined benefit plans are decreasing,
many large plan sponsors today are looking for teams at OCIOs who can provide a
“core competency” of specialized pension expertise, Cutler said