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Towers Watson Investment Services, Inc. (Arlington)


Towers Watson Investment Services, Inc. is a large advisory firm based in Arlington. It manages $35.2 billion of regulatory assets for 65 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2010 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California, Connecticut, Florida, and 12 other states.

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Towers Watson Investment Services provides portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, pension consulting services, selection of other advisers, publication of newsletters, market timing services, educational seminars and workshops, and see schedule d, miscellaneous, for a description of other advisory services. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Towers Watson Investment Services: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Towers Watson Investment Services, Inc. is $35.2 billion. The firm's AUM has grown by 220% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.


The firm manages $32.8 billion in discretionary accounts and $2.4 billion in non-discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $546.65 million each. Non-discretionary accounts, where clients actively manage their portfolios, generally hold around $480.8 million.
Towers Watson Investment Services has custody of $27.45 billion in cash and securities for 59 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in pooled investment vehicles the most. They account for 42% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is other assets, which make up 35% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in exchange traded securities form 9% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Towers Watson Investment Services, Inc. for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, subscription fees, and fixed fees. Hourly charges are usually charged for consulting work and special projects. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Carl Aaron Hess serves?

The firm provides services to pension and profit sharing plans and state or municipal government entities. The largest group of clients of Carl Aaron Hess is pension and profit sharing plans with 64 clients and $34.98 billion of assets under management. Among the 9 most similar advisory firms, Towers Watson Investment Services has the highest percentage of pension and profit sharing plans out of all clients.


The amount of regulatory assets under management is $35.2 billion for 65 clients. 2% of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Towers Watson Investment Services also advises several private funds. Namely, five other private funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons is $25,000,000 for each fund.

Careers at Towers Watson Investment Services, Inc.

The company employs 190 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 95 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 51 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There’s a single person with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Carl Aaron Hess has been acting as President since 1 May 2014. Christine Elizabeth Mckillip joined the executive team most recently as the Secretary.

Direct owners and executive officers



Name Entity Date acquired Ownership Employer ID
Towers Watson Delaware Inc. Parent company 1 Jan 1994 75% - 100% 53-0181291
Willis Towers Watson Us Llc Parent company 1 Jan 1994 75% - 100% 53-0181291
Towers Watson Delaware Holdings Inc. Parent company 1 Oct 2000 75% - 100% 53-0181291
Rebecca S Carroll Chief compliance officer 1 Jan 2006 Other 5223060
Carl Aaron Hess Director, president and general manager 1 Jul 2006 Other 4835313
Steven Mark Carlson Director, cfo, treasurer, secretary 1 Dec 2007 Other 1297298
Towers Watson & Co. Parent company 1 Jan 2010 75% - 100% 27-0676603
Christopher Demeo Director and vice president 1 Jan 2011 Other 4562438
Carl Aaron Hess Director 1 May 2014 Other 4835313
Rebecca S Carroll Chief compliance officer and secretary 1 May 2014 Other 5223060
Steven Mark Carlson Director, cfo, treasurer, president 1 May 2014 Other 1297298
Christopher Lawson Ford Director 1 Dec 2014 Other 6240916
Mark James Gilbert Chief compliance officer and secretary 1 May 2015 Other 4854604
Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Liability Company Parent 1 Jan 2016 75% - 100% 98-0352587
Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company Parent 1 Jan 2016 75% - 100% 98-0352587
Kemp Douglas Ross Director 1 Dec 2016 Other 5643435
Christine Elizabeth Mckillip Secretary 1 Feb 2019 Other 7085733

Based in Arlington

The principal office where Towers Watson Investment Services, Inc. performs its advisory services is located at 800 N. Glebe Road, Arlington, VA 22203 The mailing address of the firm is 233 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1800, Chicago, IL 60606. An additional office of the firm is in Atlanta, GA. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 703-258-8000 or by fax 703-258-8585. The normal business hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at towerswatson.com/en/services/our-solutions/investment.


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