Hewitt Associates' plan to purchase premier independent investment consultant Ennis Knupp & Associates should accelerate merger-and-acquisition talks in the sector, as the prospect of a new global heavyweight prompts competitors to critically assess their own capabilities.

Executives at some of the consulting firms cited by industry observers as the leading acquisition targets — including Cambridge, Mass.-based NEPC LLC and Callan Associates LLC of San Francisco — have sworn to maintain their independence, even as cynics insist that everyone ultimately has a price.

IPE