“Many of our clients try to build a culture around staying the course.”
This framework is used as a guiding principle by a client of William Blair’s James Dominguez, CAIA, senior client relationship manager, to help lead their beneficiaries through tough, volatile markets.
Julie Rancourt, William Blair partner, senior client relationship manager, has clients with a 20+ year relationship that she’s worked with throughout her career. She works with them through the highs—and lows—of the market.
“Through the years, you see clients navigate different cycles, some of which include disruptions such as technology booms, geopolitical tensions, market swings, or, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. All of these challenges require investors to have a long-term mindset.”
Achieving Financial Security
Dominguez and Rancourt work with various types of institutional clients, including public and private pension plans, corporations, foundations, and endowments.
A common theme across public pension funds is that their financial health is subject to various factors, such as investment performance, changes in demographic trends, and adjustments to contribution rates and benefit structures.
One client Dominguez works with is a public pension fund providing retirement, disability, and death benefits to uniformed public safety employees and their beneficiaries.
The client once told me that when fund beneficiaries think about their pension benefits, it reassures them that they won’t be homeless later in life.
JAMES DOMINGUEZ, CAIA, Senior Client Relationship Manager
To manage risk during volatile markets, Dominguez’s client employs a diversified investment strategy to help achieve its long-term return objectives. Dominguez believes a long-haul mindset allows the client’s fund performance to remain solid through challenging market conditions.
“Diversifying investments has been critical to minimizing risk while maximizing return during market volatility,” Dominguez said. “The valuations help assess the client’s funding status, seeking to provide the greatest stability for its employees.”
Since the client’s fund provides a variety of benefits, beneficiaries who may not necessarily be investment savvy can rely on the investment manager to navigate through all market conditions.
“The client once told me that when fund beneficiaries think about their pension benefits, it reassures them that they won’t be homeless later in life,” Dominguez said. “The pension provides a source of income for people to survive on long after they stop working.”
William Blair’s Long-Term Commitment
One of Rancourt’s clients is a U.S. corporate pension fund with an approximately 18-year liability, referring to the average duration over which the fund expects to make payments toward its beneficiaries. Since the pension plan has commitments to pay out funds over that time frame, careful asset management is required to meet those long-term liabilities.
William Blair started working with the client in fall 2023 near the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict. During this time, the economy experienced volatility in global trade, equities, rising oil and gas prices, and currency. The client is invested in one of William Blair Investment Management’s non-U.S. equity strategies, which focuses on the stocks of countries outside of the U.S.
“What was helpful during this time was that the client had a long-term view over a market cycle,” Rancourt said. “We spent a lot of time talking through the volatility with the client and how William Blair’s quality growth mindset can help manage through events.”
Our job is to provide them with the right information and explanations to give their constituents when they have questions about market conditions and what to expect from our portfolio.
JULIE RANCOURT, Partner, Senior Client Relationship Manager
Rancourt also credits the importance of remaining in close communication with clients. To her, it’s one of the best ways to assist them through volatile markets.
“William Blair is responsible to our clients,” Rancourt said, “but they’re responsible to their beneficiaries or investment committees. Our job is to provide them with the right information and explanations to give their constituents when they have questions about market conditions and what to expect from our portfolio.”
Regardless of the type of client, creating collaborative approaches is a way to understand how to best provide resources for them. Each client may use different managers and consultants. Rancourt uses distinctive methods for each client to best understand how market volatility may impact their goals.
“When markets get volatile, participants express their concerns,” Rancourt said. “It's essential to remind our clients what they can expect from William Blair over long-term market cycles. While we can’t predict the future, we can help by understanding how the William Blair portfolio fits into their overall plan and what our role is.”