SEC Staff Study of Pension Consultants Indicates that Business Alliances among Pension Consultants and Money Managers Can Give Rise to Serious Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest Issues that Have not been Addressed
In part due to concerns that pension consultants may steer clients to hire money managers and other vendors based on the pension consultant’s other business relationships and receipt of fees from those firms, the SEC Staff conducted a study to explore risk areas relating to pension consulting. More than 50% of the pension consultants reviewed provided products and services both to plans and to money managers and mutual funds on an ongoing basis.
Most of the pension consultants had affiliated broker-dealers or relationships with unaffiliated broker-dealers. Many pension consultants have relationships with affiliates that create disclosure and conflict of interest issues that have not been addressed by the pension consultants.
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