Peer Intelligence: Unpacking CEM's Black Box Series

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Spring 2026

Global Pension Insights

In this issue:

An introduction to 'Opening the Black Box', with our first piece unpacking which costs are benchmarked by CEM and the principles behind what we include and exclude.
A closer look at value for money in Defined Contribution (DC) pension administration, and why costs alone are not enough without understanding the outcomes they deliver.

Letter from our CEO

Introducing: “Opening the Black Box”, CEM’s new series on demystifying our approach to benchmarking.

Since our inception, you have and continue to trust us, thank you. As a data firm, we know this because our current subscribers have participated for an average of almost 9 years, on an uninterrupted basis. We also know this from the positive and, often, unsolicited feedback we receive.

Embedded in the feedback is also curiosity. You would like to know more about how we build models. How do we validate data? Where and how we make assumptions? Our view, historically, was to keep it in a black box. This approach was simpler and cleaner.

Going forward, we are evolving our approach to one more consistent with our data principles. We are launching a series of blogs that explain the key data treatments, assumptions, and methodologies behind our work. We will provide real examples, designed to help you better understand, challenge, and have confidence in the insights we provide for you and your team. Our first blog centres on the costs included when we benchmark and why.

With “Opening the Black Box”, our goal is to improve your understanding of our work and to stimulate dialogue. We are looking for your thoughts, questions and challenges. The dialogue will help us to continue to improve. And the improvement will deepen trust.

We aim to post a new blog on our website every two weeks. If you would rather receive them in your inbox, please click here to subscribe.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

Rashay Jethalal

CEO, CEM Benchmarking

Opening the Black Box: Which costs are benchmarked by CEM, and why it matters?

Palwasha Saaim,

Manager, Data Quality

Our first piece in the Opening the Black Box series looks at a fundamental question we hear often: What costs are actually benchmarked by CEM? It outlines the principles behind what we include, what we exclude, and why, covering everything from management fees to carried interest, to taxes and non-cash costs. The goal is simple: to show how we balance completeness and comparability to reflect the true economic cost of investing, while avoiding distortions that can arise from inconsistent data.

Read here

Rethinking value in DC pension administration

Edsart Heuberger,

Product Manager, Administration Benchmarking Subscription

As DC systems mature, the question is shifting from cost to value. This piece explores how differences in administration costs are often the result of deliberate service model choices from lean, efficiency-driven models to more comprehensive approaches that invest in member experience, governance, and support through complex life events.

Read here