Notice of Intent to Sole Source
Closed Special Notice Posted
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- Place of performance
- Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has issued a Notice of Intent to Sole Source a bridge contract to AQR Capital Management LLC for emerging market investment management services. This Special Notice, posted on March 9, 2026, announces the agency's intention to award a sole source contract rather than conduct a competitive procurement. The contract is a logical follow-on to the existing Contract No. PBGC01-CT-15-0040, which is set to expire on March 29, 2026. The PBGC determined that only AQR Capital Management LLC is capable of providing the necessary continuity of emerging markets equity investment management services during this transition period. Interested parties may request additional information or challenge this sole source determination by March 11, 2026 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time, though the government retains sole discretion to determine whether to compete the procurement based on any responses received.
The bridge contract is designed to maintain service continuity while a new competitive solicitation for quantitative emerging market investment management services is being conducted, with award anticipated by January 31, 2027. The proposed contract includes a base period of twelve months (March 30, 2026 through March 29, 2027) and an optional three-month extension period, funded with fiscal year 2026 resources. The PBGC conducted extensive market research from summer 2023 through February 2025 to support this determination, concluding that transitioning to another service provider would incur substantial transaction costs and portfolio disruption. The contract will utilize a fixed-rate, variable-quantity pricing structure based on pre-negotiated fees and established benchmarks, with fair and reasonable pricing validated against an independent government cost estimate and comparable contract pricing. Interested parties seeking further information should contact Rudy Baldus at Baldus.Carl@pbgc.gov or Marius Morgan at Morgan.Marius@pbgc.gov, and this notice is not a Request for Proposal but rather an announcement of the agency's intent to award.
Notice text
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) intends to make a sole source bridge award for a base period of twelve months and an option period of three months to AQR Capital Management LLC for emerging market investment management services for assets assigned under Contract No. PBGC01-CT-15-0040. The work for the recompete for the next iteration of quantitative emerging market investment management services is currently underway. Therefore, this bridge contract will allow for the continuation of services until the resultant long-term emerging market investment management contracts are awarded. Please see the attached Sole Source Justification for further information.
This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). Rather, this is a notice of intent to award sole source to AQR Capital Management LLC. Interested parties may request further information (no later than, March 11, 2026, 9:00 AM (Eastern Time)) by email to Rudy Baldus at Baldus.Carl@pbgc.gov and Marius Morgan at Morgan.Marius@pbgc.gov. A determination to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely at the discretion of the Government.
Files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| EME Bridges - JOFOC - AQR Final.pdf |
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