According to a September 8, 2014 press release, a survey of 359 UK pension professionals by Aon Hewitt suggests that investment complexity and a busy schedule are driving the increase in demand for outside help. Notably, researchers found that strategies such as liability-driven investing require a lot of analysis and that "trustees are spending less time dealing with these decisions, with 73% of trustees devoting no more than five hours each quarter to investment issues, up from 67% in 2013."

Other highlights include an observation that larger plans may opt for some help whereas smaller plans, i.e. those with assets of 500 million GBP or less "are the most likely to opt for full fiduciary management." See "Aon Hewitt Fiduciary Management Survey 2014 finds the majority of schemes opting for tailored measurement of provider performance."

The issue of time and a long list of tasks that must be carried out is not unique to the UK. In "Beyond the Beauty Contest" (June 2014), Russell Investments describes its Outsourced Chief Investment Officer ("OCIO") solution for a Canadian defined benefit plan committee that was "spending most of their time hiring and firing managers."

Acknowledging that firms with third party service offerings have a vested interest in being hired by overloaded pension executives (many of whom have full-time jobs on top of committee work), the issue as to how persons with fiduciary responsibilities spend their time is an important one to discuss.

In "The Investment Committee: Pitfalls to Avoid," the Association of Governing Boards recommends that there not be "too many" members and to adhere to an agenda. Group think is discouraged as it "can result in bad decisions that reflect the prevailing consensus of what has worked recently..." Organizations with strong support staff enjoy the advantage of having a lot of time-consuming analyses done ahead of oversight and strategy meetings. Creating and then following documents such as a clear Investment Policy Statement and Committee Charter likewise has value.

There never seems to be enough time for any investment professional. When billions of dollars are at stake, effective scheduling and use of available resources is critical.