Private Markets 360° Sarah Samuels on Navigating New Frontiers of Private Markets (With Sarah Samuels, Chief Investment Officer at NEPC)
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Feb 26, 2026 Sarah Samuels, Chief Investment Officer at NEPC and seasoned allocator, shares her journey from admin to CIO. She discusses manager selection and deep due diligence. She explores lower‑middle market opportunities, the rise of secondaries and private credit, and the convergence of public and private markets. She also highlights her work on financial literacy for kids.
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Role Model Moment That Launched A Career
- Sarah Samuels started as an administrative assistant at Wellington and was inspired to become an investor after watching a young portfolio manager who began as an admin.
- That single role-model moment convinced her that a nontraditional background could lead to investing and shaped her focus on mentorship and representation.
Public Pension Meets Endowment Mentality
- Managing both a large public pension and a small endowment taught Sarah to combine data-driven rigor with critical thinking for private markets.
- Public funds pushed quantitative documentation while the endowment trained her to make decisions with limited information and gray areas.
Run A 250–400 Question Diligence Framework
- Use a structured diligence framework that pairs deep quantitative tools with critical qualitative checks like alignment and succession planning.
- NEPC runs 250–400 diligence questions and emphasizes second-level thinking, bias mitigation, and a CIO mindset.