Richard “Dick” Charlton’s investment experience dates back to 1972, when he initiated Michigan Bell’s Pension Oversight District in anticipation of the oversight requirements of ERISA. Dick also prepared financial regulatory testimony, and wrote his master’s seminar on pension fund performance evaluation. He was elected Assistant Treasurer in February 1976, overseeing the financial modeling, market research, economics, pension, and math research districts.

After an assignment at AT&T, Dick joined Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in 1981, assuming the investment consulting responsibility for over $25 billion in assets. With Merrill Lynch’s decision to leave the institutional investment consulting market at the end of 1985, Dick formed his own firm, New England Pension Consultants, now “NEPC, LLC,” converting 100% of his clients in the process. During the ensuing 30 years, NEPC has become one of the largest and most well-known investment consulting firms in the industry.

NEPC pioneered the use of alternative assets, making its first placement in 1988. Our work in that regard was recognized in 2016 when Acquisition International accorded NEPC a hedge fund award, in 2015 when Wealth & Finance International accorded NEPC two Alternative Investment Awards; in 2012 when InvestHedge accorded NEPC its Investor Excellence Award in the Consultant category; and, in 2009 when PLANSPONSOR accorded NEPC its prestigious “Alties” Award as the Alternative Asset Consultant of the Year. NEPC also received CAIA Association’s inaugural CAIA Corporate Recognition Award in 2012 and CIO’s Industry Innovation Award in the Investment Consulting category in 2013 and 2011. NEPC’s clients have also won numerous awards, including CIO’s Industry Innovation Awards, Institutional Investor’s Intelligence Awards, and Money Management Intelligence’s Public Pension Fund Awards.

Dick has been influential in shaping NEPC’s impact investing capabilities, including mission-related and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles based on a deep understanding of the role that these factors can play in many investment programs.

Dick is a frequent speaker at national industry conferences and seminars. He also served as the Co-Chairman of the Consultants Performance Presentation Standards Task Force, a two-year effort by the investment consulting industry to develop standards for performance documentation, presentation and disclosure. He is also a past director of IMCA, the Investment Management Consultants’ Association. In 2013, Dick was honored at NASP-Detroit’s 7th Annual Encore Gala as the recipient of their “Measure of Excellence” Award.

Dick’s undergraduate degree is in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Detroit (1965), and his M.B.A., with emphasis in Statistics and Finance, is from Wayne State University (1972).