US. Manager concentration dominates corporate retirement plans. How can smaller managers compete?
David O’Meara, senior director and head of defined contribution investment strategy at Willis Towers Watson, said that the scale of the largest managers has given them significant advantages in multiple areas. “There is a downward pressure on fees,” O’Meara said. “That includes the long-term trend of an increasing use of individual passive investment options and target-date funds, which the largest managers have always dominated in the market, as well as active strategies that have more operational scale and can reduce...