Methodology
The findings in this report are based on proprietary With Intelligence data. The sources are from the With Intelligence platform, focusing on US-based investors’ completed mandates in 2025 where a named investment consultant advised on manager selection. This includes newly awarded mandates and those issued for reweighting purposes.
Executive summary
Investment consultants have played an important role in institutional investment management in the US for many decades. As corporate pension plans, public retirement systems, endowments and foundations have grown in size and complexity, they have increasingly sought independent advice on investment strategy and manager selection, providing fiduciaries with an independent assessment of the rapidly expanding universe of investment products. Consultants have become influential gatekeepers, often shaping capital flows through their manager recommendations, approved lists and due diligence frameworks.
This report reviews the universe of manager selection mandates supported and closed by investment consultants in the US over the course of 2025, considering activity by number and value of mandates, across all asset classes.
Meketa led mandate closures by number in 2025, while Mercer led by total mandate value. The same pattern held within alternative assets; Meketa advised on the highest number of mandates, Mercer on the greatest aggregate mandate value.
Although some investment consultants are established as leaders in specific asset classes, the market remains diverse, with a broad range of firms providing manager selection support across the asset-class spectrum.
Ongoing uncertainty around inflation, economic growth, supply chains and corporate earnings has likely made the role of consultants more critical to investors as they reassess manager lineups and portfolio exposures.
Introduction
This analysis covers 1,492 US investor mandates tracked by us that closed in 2025, with a total value of $112 billion. We assessed which investment consultants supported manager selection processes that resulted in a manager being appointed by the investor, across various asset classes. We rank the consultants most active in each asset class by the number and value of mandates successfully closed.
Three-quarters of investors in this analysis were public defined benefit (public DB) pension funds. However, a number of other investor types are covered, including treasury funds, permanent funds, endowments, foundations, health plans and trusts (Figure 1).
Out of the nearly 1,500 mandates awarded in 2025 by US investors, 26% were for asset reweighting purposes, but the majority were newly awarded mandates.
Mandates by consultant
Of the 1,492 mandates closed in 2025, Meketa Investment Group and NEPC accounted for 22% of all completed mandates (Figure 2), highlighting their strong presence by mandate volume. Among the top 10 consultants by number of completed mandates, these two firms alone supported over a third of all appointments. In contrast, total completed mandate value reached approximately $112bn, with Mercer, Meketa Investment Group, and RVK each advising on mandates representing more than 10% of the total (Figure 3). Combined, these three firms accounted for 35% of total completed mandate value.
Meketa and NEPC supported over one in three of all completed mandates in 2025.
Mandates by Consultant
The rankings reveal notable differences between mandate volume and mandate value (Figure 4). Mercer advised on fewer mandates than Meketa but ranked first by mandate value, indicating a greater focus on larger mandates. Similarly, RVK ranked eighth by mandate count but third by mandate value, while Aon Investments ranked tenth by count and seventh by value. Albourne Partners also featured among the top 10 by mandate value despite not ranking in the top 10 by mandate volume. On the other hand, firms such as NEPC completed a high number of mandates but ranked lower by value, suggesting a greater concentration in smaller-sized mandates.
Mercer generated 26% more mandate value than Meketa from 38% fewer completed mandates.
Mandates by asset class
The most common asset class was private equity/venture capital (PE/VC), with nearly 30% of mandates closed. Another significant proportion were equity mandates, accounting for nearly a quarter of the mandates tracked (Figure 5).
PE/VC accounted for 23% more completed mandates than equity, while equity generated 15% more mandate value than PE/VC.
Consultants by mandate number
Meketa advised on the highest number of mandates in 2025, rising from second position last year. NEPC and Meketa were notable for their broad mandate coverage across asset classes. Mercer and Aksia recorded a similar number of completed mandates, although Aksia was more concentrated in alternatives, particularly PE/VC. Mariner Institutional ranked fifth by number of mandates supported, with the majority of its activity focused on equity and fixed income (Figure 7).
Meketa and Aksia led across all alternative asset classes for those mandates closed for US investors in 2025 (Figure 8).
Meketa ranked in the top three across all alternatives asset classes except for infrastructure. Meanwhile, NEPC ranked first in private credit, second in infrastructure and fourth in other alternative asset classes. For traditional mandates, Mariner was the most active (Figure 9).
Consultants by mandate value
Mercer advised on the highest value of PE/VC and infrastructure mandates in 2025 and supported more than $9bn in alternative asset mandates overall.
Selected Investment Consultant Profiles
Mercer | 107 Completed Mandates | $15.7 billion Mandate Value
Mercer is a New York-based investment consulting firm with over 40 years of experience, serving various investors including pension funds and non-profit organizations.
The firm reported $727 billion in AuM as of March 2026, and $16.2 trillion in AuA as of June 2025.
Key personnel include CIO of Hedge Funds Dave McMillan, Head of Equity Manager Research Richard Dell, Head of European Private Equity Rhonda Ryan and Head of Private Credit David Scopelliti.
Manager research:
- Mercer selects managers using a four-factor framework: idea generation, portfolio construction, implementation and business management.
- Open to established and emerging managers.
- Pays closer attention to the investment team turnover and consistency of long-term performance.
- Hedge funds: moving away from the traditional 2%/20% fee model; prefers teams using advanced internal technology tools and implementing comprehensive global strategies.
- Uses a proprietary ESG rating system: ESG1 (highest) to ESG4 (lowest).
- To be considered in the DEI fund list, a manager must demonstrate one or more of the following: be at least one-third owned by minorities by minorities spanning BIPOC, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, US veterans and women; have an investment committee and portfolio manager teams comprised of 50% minorities or women.
Meketa Investment Group | 173 Completed Mandates | $12.4 billion Mandate Value
Meketa, founded in 1978, has $2.3 trillion in AuA. The firm’s HQ is in Westwood, Mass., with five additional offices across the US and one in London. Managing principal Frank Benham has served as the firm’s director of research since 2004. He oversees all research projects and is key in constructing customized investment programs. The marketable alternatives team uses an RMS approach across a range of clients either to offset equity risk, improve portfolio efficiency or as a portable alpha program.
Meketa Investment Group provides advisory services to a wide range of institutional investors, including supporting public pension plans, helping corporations design retirement plans for employees, and assisting multi-employer plans in constructing alternative investment portfolios.
Manager research:
- Meketa categorizes managers in private markets into emerging and diverse managers. Emerging managers are those raising their first, second or third fund. Diverse managers have majority ownership by women, minorities or people with disabilities.
- Meketa’s RMS framework divides funds into three categories: first responders perform well in sudden market downturns (e.g., long treasuries); second responders perform during sustained downturns (e.g., trend-following strategies, medium-to-long term allocations); diversifiers aim to deliver returns in unfavorable conditions for first and second responders (global macro, event-driven strategies).
- Meketa prioritzes consistency in managers as opposed to ones that over-optimize to the recent past.
- When assessing emerging managers, the firm looks for an experienced team with a strong track record.
Aksia | 105 Completed Mandates | $8.1 billion Mandate Value
Aksia is an alternative-focused consultant headquartered in New York, with $338 billion AuA and $36 billion in AuM as of March 31, 2026. The firm provides specialist investment research and advisory solutions to institutional client assets. Public pensions represent the largest portion of its client base, followed by corporate pensions, family offices and asset managers.
The firm’s management and research activities are overseen by CEO James “Jim” Vos.
Manager research:
- Aksia specializes its investment teams by asset class, sector and region.
- The firm covers more than 100 strategies across primary funds, co-investments and secondaries.
- Clients can access research, analytics, risk transparency and detailed portfolio information through Aksia’s online portal MAX.
NEPC | 158 Completed Mandates | $8 billion Mandate Value
NEPC is a Boston-based investment consultant, founded in 1986, with $1.9 trillion in AuA. Clients include corporations, public funds, endowments, foundations and charities.
Tim McCusker is now the company president after being CIO since 2006. Prior to the position, he served as director of traditional research, covering its long-only manager research and asset allocation.
On February 27, 2024, the firm opened its London office.
Manager research:
- Tends towards qualitative analysis in its manager vetting process.
- Uses a proprietary scorecard to analyze ESG advocacy on the investment and business level.
Mariner Institutional | 105 Completed Mandates | $1.5 billion Mandate Value
Mariner Wealth Advisors, a national wealth advisory firm, acquired AndCo Consulting and Fourth Street Performance Partners in a simultaneous transaction in February 2024. The AndCo team drives the new business vertical, Mariner Institutional.
The firm offers comprehensive investment consulting services for all types of institutional plans including corporations, public and government funds, insurance companies, Taft-Hartley plans and non-profit institutions, providing research-driven investment and retirement plan advisory solutions.
As of December 31, 2025, the firm reported approximately $456 billion in AuA.
Manager research:
- Mariner evaluates many financial and risk characteristics, conducting ongoing quantitative and qualitative assessments of managers.
- Quantitative factors include: annualized, calendar year and market-cycle return versus appropriate industry benchmarks and peer group; various risk-based analyses (Sharpe, Sortino, Information ratios) and factor analysis (value, growth, size, momentum).
- Qualitative factors include: stability of the investment manager’s organization and staff, adherence to stated investment philosophy and process, asset/ client turnover and the quality of client service.
