Pension and endowment funds paid $227,000 in average annual fees for investment consulting services in 2006, 5% more than a year earlier and over 50% more than in 2002, according to a Greenwich Associates study. Public pension funds with assets between $1 billion and $5 billion paid the highest fees in 2006 with an average $381,000; public funds overall averaged $291,000. Corporate funds paid an average $206,000 and endowments paid $150,000. Greenwich said 83% of the funds surveyed used an investment consultant for investment advice last year, up from 80% in 2005 and less than 75% in 2003.
Large public funds were the most active in hiring new consultants — almost 30% with more than $5 billion in assets reported doing so during the prior 12 months. Among public funds overall, 17% reported hiring new consultants during the prior 12 months, compared with 9% of corporate funds and 11% of endowments.
