Key Takeaways
- • An unusually volatile policy environment in 2025 is driving a surge in searches for outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) providers, according to market veterans cited by Pensions & Investments.
- • Institutional plan sponsors are increasingly seeking OCIO hires for the governance benefits these arrangements offer, per the P&I report.
- • NEPC's Scott Perry, partner and head of OCIO portfolio strategy, says corporate defined benefit plans are becoming project-based, with OCIO partners engaged for roughly two to three years to help plans reach a wind-down end state.
- • Publisher-referenced market data put the U.S. OCIO market at $3.3 trillion at year-end 2024, with projections of $5.6 trillion by 2029, though these figures come from a separate industry source rather than the P&I article.
Summary
Pensions & Investments reported on July 9, 2025 that OCIO evaluators are "busier than ever," with a heavy volume of search activity as institutional investors respond to a policy environment the publication describes as unusually volatile this year. According to market veterans quoted by P&I, that volatility is accentuating the governance advantages of outsourced CIOs and expanding the number of institutional plan sponsors looking to hire one.
NEPC partner and head of OCIO portfolio strategy Scott Perry, quoted in the piece, described the corporate defined benefit landscape as increasingly project-based. He said OCIO partners are often engaged for two or three years to help sponsors reach an end state in which they offload their pension plans. The comments tie the OCIO growth trend to the ongoing evolution of corporate DB de-risking and plan termination activity.
The full P&I article could not be retrieved, so the specific search volumes, evaluator names beyond NEPC, and the detailed policy developments driving demand are not confirmed here. Related publisher material references the U.S. OCIO market growing from about $1 trillion in 2015 to $3.3 trillion by the end of 2024, with projections of $5.6 trillion by 2029, and characterizes demand as likely to remain robust as institutions face a persistently volatile market environment.
NEPC partner and head of OCIO portfolio strategy Scott Perry, quoted in the piece, described the corporate defined benefit landscape as increasingly project-based. He said OCIO partners are often engaged for two or three years to help sponsors reach an end state in which they offload their pension plans. The comments tie the OCIO growth trend to the ongoing evolution of corporate DB de-risking and plan termination activity.
The full P&I article could not be retrieved, so the specific search volumes, evaluator names beyond NEPC, and the detailed policy developments driving demand are not confirmed here. Related publisher material references the U.S. OCIO market growing from about $1 trillion in 2015 to $3.3 trillion by the end of 2024, with projections of $5.6 trillion by 2029, and characterizes demand as likely to remain robust as institutions face a persistently volatile market environment.
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