Investment Consultant
A professional advisory firm that advises asset owners — endowments, pension funds, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices — on investment policy, asset allocation, and manager selection.
Investment consultants sit between the asset owner and the investment managers, providing independent advice, due diligence support, and ongoing portfolio monitoring. Major institutional consultants include Mercer, Aon, Willis Towers Watson, Cambridge Associates, and NEPC. Some consultants are fully discretionary (OCIO — outsourced chief investment officer); others are purely advisory.
Core services include investment policy statement (IPS) development, asset allocation modeling and liability analysis, manager search, due diligence and selection, ongoing portfolio monitoring and reporting, and risk management and stress testing.
How Octum helps
Investment consultants are active Octum users — using Ora for fund manager research, People Intelligence for team analysis, and Data Signals for market monitoring across their client portfolios.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an investment consultant do?
Investment consultants advise institutional asset owners on investment policy, asset allocation, and manager selection. They provide independent advice, due diligence support, and ongoing portfolio monitoring.
What is the difference between advisory and OCIO consultants?
Advisory consultants provide recommendations while the asset owner makes final decisions. OCIO (Outsourced CIO) consultants have full discretionary authority to implement investment decisions on behalf of the client.
Who are the major institutional investment consultants?
Major firms include Mercer, Aon, Willis Towers Watson, Cambridge Associates, and NEPC. They serve endowments, pension funds, foundations, and sovereign wealth funds.
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