Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • LOGIN
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE Act 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. SPECIAL REPORT INVESTMENT CONSULTANTS
November 25, 2019 12:00 AM

Pace of M&A deals not seen to slow down anytime soon

Danielle Walker— Danielle Walker
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Gregory Allen
    Callan’s Gregory Allen said his firm is ‘always open’ to acquiring smaller consulting firms.

    After a busy year for mergers and acquisitions in the industry, investment consultants still see a potential for new deals moving forward.

    Stephen Cummings, CEO of Aon Hewitt Investment Consulting Inc. and global investment officer, head of North America investments at Aon PLC, Chicago, expects that the recent pace of consolidation in the investment consultant industry "will likely continue."

    On its part, Aon is "always keeping (its) eyes open for things that may be interesting for our clients," Mr. Cummings said of potential acquisitions — though its sights aren't set on acquiring any particular set of capabilities.

    "As the second-largest (investment consulting) firm out there, we have a lot of capabilities, but we're certainly always aware of what's going on," he said.

    Aon's most recent deal closed in January 2018, when it completed its acquisition of real estate investment management and consulting firm the Townsend Group for $475 million. The deal to acquire Townsend, which was majority owned by Colony NorthStar Inc., helped Aon significantly expand its investment capabilities, such as outsourced CIO and advisory services for large and midsize global organizations, Aon said in an announcement at the time.

    Townsend advised on $175.7 billion in global assets and managed $14.5 billion in assets when the deal was announced in September 2017.

    More recently, Aon considered combining its business with Willis Towers Watson but quickly announced in March that it was no longer pursuing the deal, which could have been the industry's largest merger.

    As for the other big tie-ups, another large investment consultant, Meketa Investment Group Inc., Westwood, Mass., inked a deal this spring to acquire Pension Consulting Alliance LLC, Portland, Ore., which boosted the firm's collective client AUA to approximately $1.8 trillion, up from up around $1.1 trillion prior to the combination.

    As of June 30, Meketa was ranked No. 8 by worldwide institutional AUA with $1.98 trillion, up 76.6% from the previous year, Pensions & Investments' survey showed.

    Meanwhile, Callan LLC, San Francisco, has separately said it is open to considering the acquisition of smaller players in the consulting space, said Gregory Allen, CEO and chief research officer.

    While Callan has the scale where it wouldn't need to merge with a larger firm, "there are smaller firms where it might make sense to merge (with) us, so we are looking at that," he said.

    "We are always open. People do approach us, and we do entertain those conversations. But (as far as) us being absorbed into a larger organization, I don't think the economics would make much sense for them or us," he added.

    While Mr. Allen said the firm does not have a strategic initiative in place now to search for particular capabilities, Callan is "going to be opportunistic when an opportunity comes along."

    Related Articles
    Consultants weighing impact of global financial challenges
    Client demands, market shifts could challenge growth
    More endowments, DC plans make OCIO jump
    Recommended for You
    Stephen Cummings
    Consultants weighing impact of global financial challenges
    Client changes push consultants to new paths
    Client changes push consultants to new paths
    OCIO, Anchor in Rough Seas
    Sponsored Content: OCIO, Anchor in Rough Seas

    Reader Poll

    May 23, 2022
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Crossroads: Politics, Inflation, & Bonds
    Credit Indices: Closing the Fixed Income Evolutionary Gap
    Forever in Style: Benchmarking with the Morningstar® Broad Style Indexes℠
    Q2 2022 Credit Outlook: Carry On
    Leverage does not equal risk
    Is there a mid-cap gap in your DC plan?
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    May 23, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE Act 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2022 Innovation Investing Conference
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
      • 2022 Alternatives Investing Conference