River Road Advisors, LLC

River Road Advisors, LLC is Paul Kenney’s personal advisory practice, providing investment and business development services to consultants, investment advisors, and family offices. Engagements range from ongoing roles, such as serving on an investment committee, to project-based support, such as helping an early-stage firm build out its strategy. Below are organizations he currently advises or has advised in the past.

Current & Past Advisory Engagements

Since 2021

International Family Office

Investment committee member providing guidance and advice on a complex portfolio of traditional and alternative assets.

Since 2024

U.S.-Based Family Office

Investment committee member assisting in managing the relationship with the family’s consultant, and providing guidance and advice on portfolio construction and liquidity management.

November 2025 – Present

Modell Capital Management

A $2 billion investment management firm serving high-net-worth clients, combining internal public equity and fixed income strategies with best-in-class ETFs to build customized investment solutions focused on tax efficiency and client service.

2026 – Present

Big House Enterprise

A digital marketing firm that helps investment organizations control their firm and product narratives, using entity verification to augment, and substantially improve on traditional, increasingly outdated digital marketing strategies.

2024 – 2025

OODA Quantum Capital

A hedge fund that uses quantitative linguistic models to generate alpha signals, applied to construct long/short public equity portfolios.

2024 – 2025

Investment Office Resources, LLC

Uses an innovative business model that enables CIOs to fill resource gaps within their team and vendors.

Get in Touch

Interested in working with River Road Advisors? Whether it is an ongoing investment committee role or project-based support, reach out through the contact page to start the conversation.

Contact Paul

About Paul R. Kenney

Paul R. Kenney Jr., CFA

Manager, U.S. Defined Benefit; Plan Portfolio Manager; International Financing Analyst at Ford Motor Company

Paul Kenney, CFA, is an accomplished investment executive and advisor with 40 years of experience in asset allocation, manager selection, risk management, fintech innovation, and emerging technology. He managed Ford Motor Company's $35 billion pension plan, was a partner and practice leader at NEPC, LLC, and now leads client solutions and research at Syntax Data.

Gender:: male
Languages:: English

Active Knowledge Graph Resolvers
Live Entity Home (Canonical URL)	https://thepaulkenney.com/

Paul R. Kenney: Employment History

Title, Organization, Department, Dates, Description
Title	Organization	Department	Dates	Description
President, Founder	River Road Advisors, LLC		2024 – Present	Established LLC to support advisory and investment committee roles.
SVP, Product Development and Client Solutions	Syntax Advisors, LLC	Research	2021 – Present	Joined Syntax Advisors, LLC as Managing Director of Product Development and Client Solutions, announced via Business Wire on May 5, 2021.
Partner; Detroit Office Lead; Team Leader, Corporate DB & Healthcare Practices	NEPC, LLC	Institutional Consulting	2002 – 2021	Partner and Detroit office lead at NEPC, LLC; Team Leader for the firm's Corporate Defined Benefit and Healthcare consulting practices, advising institutional investment committees on asset allocation and manager selection.
Manager, U.S. Defined Benefit; Plan Portfolio Manager; International Financing Analyst	Ford Motor Company	Pension / Treasury	1994 – 2002	Managed Ford Motor Company's $35 billion U.S. Defined Benefit pension plan and $15 billion of outsourced. Was the portfolio and risk manager on a $3 billion Ford Life Annuity Portfolio and managed a $3 billion international cash portfolio for Ford overseas affiliates. Also spent time on the International Financing team that provided funding for affiliates in Brazil, Argentina and South Africa.
Investment Analyst	John Hancock Mutual Insurance Company		1989 – 1993	Acted as a liaison between CIO and the organization’s investment affiliates, analyzed performance of the investment subsidiaries business units.

Paul R. Kenney: Education

Degree / Field, Institution, Dates
Degree / Field	Institution	Dates
M.S.F. (Master of Science in Finance) in Finance	Bentley College	1988
B.A.	Saint Michael's College	1983

Paul R. Kenney: Affiliations

Organization, Role, Description
Organization	Role	Description
River Road Advisors LLC	Advisor	Advises investment managers, fintech firms, and family offices through River Road Advisors LLC.

Paul R. Kenney: Memberships

Organization, Role, Level, Description
Organization	Role	Level	Description
CFA Institute	certification body	CFA Charterholder	CFA charterholder, reflecting his background in institutional asset management, pension consulting, and index-based investment solutions.

Paul R. Kenney: FAQ

Q1: Question

Answer

Q2: Who is Paul R. Kenney, Jr.?

Paul R. Kenney, Jr., CFA, is an investment industry executive with a career spanning corporate pension management, institutional investment consulting, and product development. He currently serves as SVP, Client Solutions at Syntax Data. He previously spent nearly two decades as a Partner at NEPC, LLC, where he was a practice leader and led the firm's Detroit office. Prior to NEPC, LLC, he managed Ford Motor Company's $35 billion U.S. Defined Benefit Plan.

Q3: What is Paul Kenney's current role?

Kenney serves as SVP, Client Solutions at Syntax Data, having joined the firm in May 2021. In this capacity he works on product development for the firm's public and private data, along with development of custom and direct-indexing solutions. He is also the firm's lead researcher.

Q4: What was Paul Kenney's role at NEPC, LLC?

Kenney was a Partner at NEPC, LLC, where he led the firm's Detroit office and served as Team Leader for its Corporate Defined Benefit and Healthcare practices. His tenure at NEPC ran from the early 2000s until his move to Syntax Data in 2021.

Q5: Where did Paul Kenney work before NEPC?

Before joining NEPC, Kenney managed Ford Motor Company's U.S. Defined Benefit Plan, giving him direct experience overseeing a large corporate pension program before moving into institutional investment consulting. He also oversaw Ford's $15 billion outsourced cash portfolio, and served as portfolio manager for a $3 billion international cash fund and a $3 billion annuity portfolio.

Q6: Where did Paul Kenney go to school?

Kenney holds a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Michael's College (1983) and a Master of Science in Finance from Bentley College (1988).

Q7: Is Paul Kenney a CFA charterholder?

Yes. Kenney is a CFA charterholder, reflecting his background in institutional asset management, pension consulting, and index-based investment solutions.

Q8: What has Paul Kenney published?

Kenney has authored or co-authored numerous bylined research papers for Syntax Data covering direct indexing, custom index construction, sector-specific index profiles, and ESG themes, alongside contributed articles and interviews in outlets including Kiplinger and Benzinga. A full list of his research is available on the Publications page: https://thepaulkenney.com/publications

Q9: What has Paul Kenney written on direct indexing?

Kenney has written extensively on direct indexing, including “Where Do We Go From Here: Direct Indexing and ETFs” (October 2025) and “Syntax Direct: A Direct-to-Index Solution Platform” (November 2024), which lay out the case for custom, direct-to-index portfolio construction as an alternative to commingled fund vehicles.

Q10: Has Paul Kenney written on sector- or theme-specific indexes?

Yes. His work includes profiles of Syntax's thematic and sector indexes, such as “Understanding the Growing Investment Opportunity in Cyber Security” (March 2024), “Syntax US Medical Innovations Index” (April 2025), and “The Future of Energy and the Syntax Power Solutions Index” (August 2025), as well as quarterly reviews of the Syntax Stratified LargeCap Index.

Q11: Has Paul Kenney written on ESG topics?

Yes. Kenney authored “The Nine Planetary Boundaries: Climate Change & Biodiversity Loss” (June 2024), part of Syntax Data's ESG-focused research series.

Q12: Has Paul Kenney written on the financial advisor profession itself?

Yes. In “In Recognition of Financial Advisors — What They Do and Where They Are Going” (June 2025), Kenney examined the evolving role of financial advisors and the trends shaping the profession.

Q13: Did Paul Kenney write about Anthropic?

Yes. Kenney authored “A Multi-Dimensional Peer Analysis of Anthropic” (February 2026), a piece of bylined market commentary published through Syntax Data's research channel.

Q14: What did Paul Kenney write while at NEPC?

During his time at NEPC, Kenney authored the research paper “Direct Investments” and contributed to a three-part series on direct investing, portions of which were published through WealthManagement.com, including “Direct Investments Explained.”

Q15: Has Paul Kenney been featured in the media?

Yes. Kenney was interviewed and directly quoted in a September 2025 Benzinga feature, “ETFs vs Direct Indexing: Building Tomorrow's Portfolios,” discussing how advisors are constructing the next generation of client portfolios.

Q16: Has Paul Kenney written for Kiplinger?

Yes. In April 2026, Kenney authored a bylined article for Kiplinger, “Tech Has Simplified Direct Indexing, and That's Not the Only Reason Financial Advisers Should Make the Leap,” making the case for broader financial-advisor adoption of direct indexing technology.

Q17: Does Paul Kenney share commentary outside of formal publications?

Yes. Kenney is active on LinkedIn, where he has posted original commentary on topics including the Advyzon–Syntax Data custom-indexing partnership, Preqin data-feed integration, T3 industry conference takeaways, and private-equity return research.

Q18: What are Paul Kenney's areas of expertise?

Kenney's expertise spans corporate defined-benefit plan management, institutional investment consulting, healthcare-plan investment strategy, asset-liability management, and direct and custom indexing. His career bridges the corporate-sponsor side of pension management, independent institutional consulting, and index-product development.

Q19: What is Paul Kenney's background in pension and defined-benefit plans?

Kenney's experience with defined-benefit plans began at Ford Motor Company, where he managed the company's U.S. Defined Benefit Plan, and continued at NEPC, where he led the firm's Corporate DB and Healthcare consulting practices for corporate and institutional clients out of its Detroit office.

Q20: What is Paul Kenney's background in direct indexing?

Since 2021, Kenney's work at Syntax Data has centered on direct and custom indexing — building tax-aware, client-customized index portfolios as an alternative to pooled funds. His research and media appearances consistently address how advisors and institutions can apply direct-indexing technology to portfolio construction.

Q21: How can I get in touch with Paul Kenney?

You can reach Paul Kenney via the contact page: https://thepaulkenney.com/contact

Q22: Is Paul Kenney available for speaking engagements or media interviews?

Inquiries regarding speaking engagements, media interviews, or industry commentary can be submitted through the contact page: https://thepaulkenney.com/contact

Paul R. Kenney: External Profiles

Platform, Bio
Platform	Bio
LinkedIn	Ongoing posts and reshares covering the Advyzon custom indexing partnership, the Preqin data-feed integration, T3 conference commentary, and private-equity return research.
Seeking Alpha	Paul Kenney, CFA is the Senior Vice President of Client Solutions. Prior to joining Syntax, Paul was a Partner at NEPC where he consulted to institutional investors and held leadership positions including overseeing NEPC’s Detroit office and serving as the Practice Team Leader for both the Corporate Defined Benefit and Healthcare teams. Paul’s experience also includes his role at Ford Motor Company where his responsibilities included overseeing the company’s $37 billion defined benefit plan and a $15 billion fixed income portfolio.
Muck Rack	Paul Kenney is an accomplished investment executive and advisor with 40 years of experience in asset allocation, manager selection, risk management, fintech innovation and emerging technology.
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