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When drama breaks out at the world's largest asset managers, big clients have to make tough choices.
A group of quiet but powerful advisors helps decide what to do when controversies arise.
Often they advise doing nothing — but as calls for equity grow, there is more pressure to act.
If a fund manager winds up in the news for the wrong reasons, institutional investors must decide whether to stand pat, put the manager in a penalty box, or fire them altogether.
Behind the scenes, a quiet but hugely influential group often holds sway over how these investors — who collectively control some $70 trillion in investable assets on behalf of retired teachers and firefighters, university endowments, charities, hospitals, and more — react.