• Challenging market conditions put a premium upon wide-ranging investment expertise and speed of decision making, along with awareness of how client needs vary by region
• Clients are increasingly looking to access Mercer Investment Consulting capabilities in different ways, with an increase in those turning to Mercer for implementation of investment advice and for governance support to ensure the integrity of fiduciary oversight
• Wealth management clients are seeking the same investment insights and solutions as the most sophisticated institutional investors
Mercer today announced a number of changes to its investment organisation designed to meet the changing needs of its institutional and wealth management clients and to better enable the firm to effectively advise clients in a period of challenging market conditions.
The changes integrate global investment consulting and investment management at Mercer, provide the opportunity for tailored regional solutions, and further strengthen Mercer’s manager research and wealth management capabilities globally, noted Phil de Cristo, President and Group Executive of Investments.
“Investments is a high growth business for Mercer that has grown at a double-digit rate over the past nine quarters. In designing our own organisational structure for the future, we are determined to be ready with the services our clients need as they evolve. The growth of our business is evidence of how much clients value Mercer’s investment capabilities.” said Mr. de Cristo.
“Mercer continues to serve its traditional investment consulting client base. But directionally, many of our clients are asking Mercer to move beyond investment consulting and to assume a greater role in helping them manage their investment programmes,” said Mr. de Cristo. “In an outsourced governance model where Mercer implements investment advice, Mercer almost becomes an extension of company staff. Some clients may not want to staff internally to oversee their alternative investments or other complex investment vehicles, or to monitor fast-moving markets. In other cases, involving DB pension plans, our clients have transitioned to a de-risking model where the speed of decision making enabled by outsourcing of implementation is critically important for clients.”
Mr. de Cristo noted that clients value Mercer’s global reach and expertise, but also value the firm’s awareness of local and regional differences in pension benefit plans, investment opportunities, tax policy and other factors that must be tailored to the local competitive and investment environment.
“Finally, Mercer is ideally placed to meet the demands of a more sophisticated wealth market,” Mr. de Cristo observed. “Wealth management clients are seeking the same investment insights and solutions as the most sophisticated institutional investors. We are investing in our capability to serve this market.”
Under Mercer’s new organisational structure, four regional managers for investments, the head of manager research and wealth management, and the global Chief Investment Officer (CIO) will report to Mr. de Cristo.
Andrew Kirton will continue in his role as global CIO with an increased emphasis on strengthening Mercer’s portfolio management and strategic research capabilities.
Jeff Schutes has been named global head of manager research and wealth management. Cara Williams, will continue to lead wealth management, reporting to Mr. Schutes.
Rich Nuzum has been appointed head of Investments for the US. Tom Murphy will become head of fiduciary management for the US, reporting to Mr. Nuzum.
Tom Geraghty has been named head of Investments for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Michael Dempsey will become head of fiduciary management for EMEA, reporting to Mr. Geraghty.
Stephen Roberts has been named Head of Investments for Asia-Pacific. Simon Eagleton has been appointed Australia/New Zealand market leader for investments.
Ted Singeris has been appointed the Head of Investments for Canada and Latin America. Yvan Breton will become head of fiduciary management for Canada and Latin America, reporting to Mr. Singeris.
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