Data integrity is at the core of everything we do
It's guided by our eight core data principles, backed by three pillars: our Global Reporting Principles, developed with leading global pension funds; Data Scorecards, built for institutional investors; and a Seven-Step Validation Process, refined over more than 30 years.
Below, we answer the questions as part of our ongoing "Opening the Black Box", our ongoing series on the data treatments, assumptions, and methodologies behind our analyses. Want new answers as we publish them?
Governance
What is the purpose of Opening the Black Box series?
“Opening the Black Box” pulls back the curtain on how CEM builds, validates, and applies the data behind its benchmarking work. This new series walks through everything from data governance and quality processes to taxonomies, methodologies, and the tools that power our analytics, giving subscribers the context to understand their results and ask sharper questions. Read more
How is data governed at CEM?
This blog breaks down the eight foundational principles that guide how CEM governs data, from completeness and comparability to accuracy, confidentiality, and security. It’s a look inside the standards that keep your benchmarking data trustworthy, consistent, and comparable across peers. Read more
What are CEM's philosophy and principles when governing data?
We are “Opening the Black Box” in this post to go inside CEM’s data governance structure – the seven-step validation process, the Data Governance Committee’s mandate, and the RACI framework that ensures no decision about your data is made unilaterally. Learn how our Committee, Client Advisory Boards, and dedicated data owners work together to keep every data decision consistent, accountable, and disciplined. Read more
What are the Global Reporting Principles?
We introduce CEM’s Global Reporting Principles (GRP) in this blog. GRP is the industry’s global standard for institutional investment and administration reporting, developed with a seven-member international Advisory Board. Learn how the GRP’s 16 principles power CEM’s Data Scorecard, giving subscribers gold, silver, or bronze ratings on completeness and timeliness. Read more
Delivery
What are the steps in CEM’s data quality process?
We walk you through CEM’s seven-step data quality process, from initial upload through the rules engine’s automated checks to expert analyst review and final joint sign-off. See how automation and human expertise work together to catch errors, resolve anomalies, and ensure only reliable data makes it into your reporting & insights. Read more
Can data be sourced from third parties?
We share when and why CEM sources data from third parties including asset managers, recordkeepers and publicly available sources. Learn how these sources speed up submission and strengthen the benchmarks and research delivered back to you. Full blog coming up on August 19, 2026.
How does CEM select peer groups?
A frequently asked question is addressed in this blog walking through the five types of peer groups CEM builds and the criteria that shape each one, from AUM and membership size to operating model and shared community needs. Find out what goes into making sure your comparisons are meaningful, not arbitrary. Full blog coming up on September 16, 2026
Investments
Which asset classes and approaches are included in CEM’s benchmarking?
Check out the asset classes we benchmark today, how we account for peers’ different implementation styles, e.g., internal management, co-investments, fund of funds and how we ensure comparability across regions. Full blog coming up on September 30, 2026.
How does CEM calculate AUM for the year?
How do we ask for holdings to be reported? What happens if your mandate or an investment program is terminated in the year? How are fee rates calculated for private market holdings? We cover everything around holdings in the blog coming up on October 14, 2026
Does CEM reconcile the costs I provide to our annual report?
Costs benchmarked in your CEM report may not reconcile with costs reported in your annual report. Why does it happen? We share detail of what costs are included and excluded in this blog.
How does CEM address fees when missing or rejected?
Total costs become incomparable if some fees are missing. But missing investment management fees can be imputed. What does it mean and how do we do it? We will share our ‘Waterfall’ methodology in the full blog which is coming up on October 28, 2026.
Are performance fees always included in the benchmarking analysis?
How do we collect and benchmark carried interest? Are performance fees considered revenue sharing? Do all of your peers provide carried interest? We answer some of the most frequently asked questions in this blog
What is CEM’s methodology for benchmarking investment costs?
Get inside access to how the sausage is made. We share in this blog the nuts and bolts of our cost benchmark methodology that makes our investment benchmarking a powerful tool for peer comparisons. Access to this blog is only available to our subscribers.
How does CEM benchmark performance?
Get to know our philosophy behind benchmarking performance, how and why we calculate net returns and net value added to ensure comparability. Full blog coming up on December 09, 2026.
Why does CEM insist on TWRR vs. IRR for private markets?
What types of return measurements are accepted for peer comparisons and why some are rejected. Learn more in the full blog coming up on November 11, 2026.
What is CEM’s PE benchmark? Why and when is it used?
How do we standardize private equity net value added comparisons? We share in this blog how we construct the standardized benchmark. Access to this blog is only available to our subscribers.
How does CEM account for changes in currency and related hedging?
How do we conduct global comparisons when holdings and returns are reported in different currencies? Are returns reported hedged or unhedged? What about benchmarks? Those are some of the questions we address in this blog.
How does CEM account for the use of leverage?
In this blog we discuss how use of leverage impacts your results and how leverage is addressed in peer comparisons.
Administration
Which plan activities and member journeys does CEM consider?
We share the details of pension administration cost centers and activities we benchmark, as well as the journeys considered for performance benchmarking.
What is CEM's methodology for benchmarking administration costs?
Get the inside scoop on our methodology for benchmarking pension administration costs. Access to this blog is only available to our subscribers.
What is CEM's methodology for calculating the admin service score?
Learn the ins and outs of our methodology for benchmarking administration performance – what service metrics we considered across the member journeys. Access to this blog is only available to our subscribers.
Research & Analytics
How is data quality assured in R&A?
CEM’s Research & Analytics team works on ad-hoc research including unique data sourced for one-time research purpose. How do we ensure that data and insights meet the same standards as our benchmarking products?
Tools & Systems
How does CEM’s rules engine work?
Find out how our rules engine works to automate data cleaning before it receives the human touch from our analysts.
Does CEM use AI in its data quality efforts?
What is our approach to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Learn more about our AI policy, and where and how we use AI today.
Deliverables
MIR
TBC
Data scorecard
TBC