Plan Sponsors Look to Change Investment Lineup

Four new asset managers have made it to the plan sponsors’ top 10 list

More than one-third of sponsors (35%) plan to modify their investment lineup in the next 12 months, according to Cogent Reports’ annual DC Investment Manager Brandscape study. In addition, four new investment managers—Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, John Hancock Funds and Prudential Retirement—are now on sponsors’ top 10 list. Last year, Goldman was ranked 13th, J.P. Morgan 11th, John Hancock 31st and Prudential 18th.

“Every year presents new opportunities for investment managers to capture the attention of plan sponsors and gain further traction in the DC [defined contribution] space,” says Linda York, vice president of Cogent Reports. “While they’ve been active in the DC market for years, four investment managers break into the top 10 this year, demonstrating that sizable results can be achieved with the right strategy in place.” What really sets investment managers apart, York adds, is “thought leadership,” which she says “only a handful of investment managers excel at.”

For plan sponsors planning to change their investment lineup in the next 12 months, the 2014 top 10 investment managers are:

Vanguard
Fidelity Investments
BlackRock
J.P. Morgan Asset Management
American Funds
Goldman Sachs
Prudential Financial
John Hancock Funds
T. Rowe Price
Charles Schwab Investment Management

Cogent’s study is based on an online survey of 620 plan sponsors conducted between February 21 and March 6.

«