Billion Dollar Backstory 143: She's Sat Across From Hundreds of Managers. Here's What Actually Earns the Yes. Meet Shannon Saccocia, CIO of Neuberger Berman Wealth.
Shannon is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer for Wealth at Neuberger Berman, a firm with north of AUM, and she's spent years on the other side of the table, sitting through roughly 300 manager meetings a year. She knows exactly what earns credibility fast. And she knows exactly what kills it.
In this episode, Stacy Havener sits down with Shannon to pull back the curtain on what allocators are actually looking for, and why the managers who win aren't the ones performing. They're the ones listening.
Because the real answers don't come out when you're trying to sound smart, they come out when you're genuinely trying to understand. And the questions you ask say a lot more about you than the vocabulary you use.
Shannon also gets into what it actually means to build solutions from real client problems instead of copying the industry playbook and why a $560B firm can still feel boutique when the mindset is right.
Listen in to hear:
- Why courage almost always precedes confidence
- What 300 manager meetings a year taught her about what allocators really care about
- How she asks questions that make people drop the script
Why focusing on trying to sound smart backfires for PMs in meetings
Why complexity bias can quietly hurt your distribution - What allocators mean when they say "help us help you"
- Why simple, repeatable messaging wins, especially when someone else has to retell your story
More About Shannon Saccocia:
Shannon Saccocia, CFA, is Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer for Wealth at Neuberger Berman, a global investment manager with north of $560B AUM. As a member of the firm's global Asset Allocation Committee, she works closely with investment leadership to establish market views, strategic and tactical asset allocation, and portfolio recommendations for Wealth clients.
Before joining Neuberger Berman in 2023, Shannon served as Chief Investment Officer at SVB Private and Boston Private Wealth, overseeing portfolio construction, manager selection, and asset allocation. She has also held senior roles at Banyan Partners and Silver Bridge Advisors focused on manager selection and portfolio construction.
Shannon holds a BA in Economics and History from Brandeis University and has earned both the CFA and CIMA® designations. She is a longtime CNBC contributor and is regularly featured across financial media. She lives in the Boston area with her husband and two children.
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