Key Takeaways
- • Nokia of America Corp., based in Murray Hill, N.J., hired Mercer to provide outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) services for its U.S. defined benefit pension plan, reported at roughly $13 billion.
- • Mercer took control of Nokia's $13.8 billion pension plan and Lucent Technologies' $4.2 billion plan in October, according to Pensions & Investments publisher context.
- • The mandate also covers defined contribution portfolios, with Mercer serving as fiduciary alongside its investment oversight role.
- • The move follows a broader trend of corporate plan sponsors outsourcing pension management, including UPS's defined benefit plan to Goldman Sachs and Kodak's corporate plan to NEPC.
Summary
Nokia of America Corp., headquartered in Murray Hill, New Jersey, has hired Mercer to act as its outsourced chief investment officer for its U.S. defined benefit pension plan, which Pensions & Investments places at about $13 billion. Per the publisher's coverage, the telecom company outsourced investment of both its defined benefit and defined contribution portfolios to Mercer.
According to Pensions & Investments, Mercer assumed control of Nokia's $13.8 billion pension plan and Lucent Technologies' $4.2 billion plan in October, while also serving as fiduciary. The arrangement reflects a continuing shift among corporate sponsors toward delegating investment governance to specialist providers rather than managing plan assets in-house.
The Nokia mandate follows similar moves by other large plan sponsors. Publisher coverage notes that UPS outsourced its defined benefit plan to Goldman Sachs, Kodak gave its corporate plan to NEPC, and Shell appointed Goldman Sachs Asset Management as outsourced CIO for multiple pension funds totaling about $40 billion. Goldman Sachs also became OCIO for Verizon's pension and defined contribution assets, a combined $70 billion mandate.
For institutional allocators, the transaction underscores growing demand for OCIO arrangements that combine asset allocation, implementation and fiduciary responsibility across both defined benefit and defined contribution assets.
According to Pensions & Investments, Mercer assumed control of Nokia's $13.8 billion pension plan and Lucent Technologies' $4.2 billion plan in October, while also serving as fiduciary. The arrangement reflects a continuing shift among corporate sponsors toward delegating investment governance to specialist providers rather than managing plan assets in-house.
The Nokia mandate follows similar moves by other large plan sponsors. Publisher coverage notes that UPS outsourced its defined benefit plan to Goldman Sachs, Kodak gave its corporate plan to NEPC, and Shell appointed Goldman Sachs Asset Management as outsourced CIO for multiple pension funds totaling about $40 billion. Goldman Sachs also became OCIO for Verizon's pension and defined contribution assets, a combined $70 billion mandate.
For institutional allocators, the transaction underscores growing demand for OCIO arrangements that combine asset allocation, implementation and fiduciary responsibility across both defined benefit and defined contribution assets.
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