Samuel Austin

New England Pension Consultants

Over the last three decades, NEPC has become a dominant player in the public pension space where boards, trustees, staff and beneficiaries care and can get quite emotional about diversity, equity and inclusion. Consequently, the firm brings decades of experience successfully working with boards and investment staff on the subject of emerging and diverse managers. NEPC no doubt often feels that our hyper results-oriented industry doesn’t give the firm credit for its results in supporting diversity. The truth is that few firms have placed as much money with as many diverse firms as NEPC. The firm lives in a perpetual “fish bowl” given the public and transparent nature of its clients. This fact necessitates the need for process, for documentation, and ultimately for accountability for decision making. While managers may view their process as painstaking, it provides all managers with an opportunity to experience real institutional decision-making and become prepared for an industry that appreciates a command of the details both investment and operational. With more than 400 clients and $1.5T of assets under advisement, they are a “go-to” consultant in a firm’s early development, but more importantly once a manager is prepared to scale. NEPC has large clients and individual manager allocations may sometimes be more appropriate for mid-size and larger diverse managers. However, the firm is prepared to be out front and the first capital allocation in select situations where there is a fit for clients. Samuel M. Austin, III joined NEPC in 2017 and given his three decades of experience, tireless work ethic and strategic approach to the business, NEPC will grow its market share and support for the diverse manager community. “Sam is an extraordinary leader and a true asset to NEPC,” said Michael Manning, Managing Partner of NEPC. “In addition to shaping the future of the firm by helping to build our business and strengthen our management, Sam is creating positive change in the broader financial industry as an influential advocate for diverse investment managers.”