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Investing is complex, especially in volatile markets. We can help you reach your investment goals and achieve better governance.
Every investor is different, but their ambitions are the same – reaching their investment goal, minimizing risk and staying in control. Our investments platform helps you do exactly that. By collaborating with us, we can help you develop a complete risk and governance solution. You will have access to multiple highly rated investment managers and you can potentially reduce your investment related costs. Connect with us to explore what we can do for you today.
“By listening to our clients, focusing on governance and designing solutions tailored to their needs, our clients, as institutional investors, can be confident that their portfolios are getting the right level of expertise, experience and responsiveness, through evolving market conditions” – Mick Dempsey, Global Head of investment solutions.
Private markets are becoming increasingly popular as investors shift parts of their portfolios away from publicly traded assets in order to diversify their risk and return drivers. The opportunities in private markets span many sectors and regions, each offering something different to investors. Yet they all share the qualities of being shielded from much public market volatility and having the potential to earn a premium by being held over the long term.
However, accessing managers that invest in private markets can be challenging for some investors – this is where Mercer can help. We have been investing in these markets for more than 25 years, establishing deep relationships with a wide universe of highly-rated managers. Our dedicated alternatives group of over 180 professionals across 20 global locations, work on $200bn of alternatives advisory mandates for clients - $21bn of assets being under direct implementation.2
Investment solutions for pension plans
Investment solutions provide a complete governance framework for pension plans, helping them untangle complexity and prepare them to face the future. From designing bespoke, outcomes-based investment strategies to nimbly shifting portfolios to seize opportunities, our pension plan clients benefit from Mercer’s heritage, skill and scale in the market. We draw on more than seven decades of providing bespoke financial advice to organisations of all types and sizes, with a global strategy team that continually bolsters its indepth knowledge across all asset classes and investment themes.
We have the world’s largest proprietary institutional investment manager database of more than 6,717 investment managers and more than $7t of subscriber assets2. This leading position we hold in the market also empowers us to push down on manager fees, which we pass straight to our clients, and engage with them on strategy and performance questions. Running our portfolio management systems in-house, using our own operational platform, also enables us to flex towards protection or opportunities efficiently, depending on our outlook for markets, while keeping our clients’ fees down.
We design investment solutions to give pension funds the tools and the confidence to tackle what lies ahead and to help meet their objectives. Connect with us to explore what we can do for you today.
Investment solutions for endowments and foundations
From large, global foundations to small, family-run endowments, we help not-for-profit organisations design porfolios suitable to their needs and that help them in their search of better investment outcomes, while keeping them in control and their costs down.
Our investment solutions governance framework gives our not-for-profit and charities clients access to as much of our institutional investment capability as they need to help meet their objectives. These clients work with our experienced teams to formulate a long-term, diversified investment strategy, drawing on our insight gained from operating in this field for several decades. We can also implement their own strategy, using our institutional-standard operational platform to access a wide global range of managers and asset classes – at competitive fees.
Our dedicated sustainable investment team can also help our clients shape an ESG policy, according to their principles and beliefs, exploring risks and opportunities that could significantly impact their portfolio. We conduct rigorous oversight of portfolios to ensures managers are sticking to their claims on ESG to protect our clients from reputational damage connected to a sector or company.
We want our endowment and foundations clients to stay in control of their portfolio, no matter what the future brings, and feel confident they have a plan in place designed to weather what lies ahead. Connect with us to explore what we can do for you today.
Investment solutions for wealth managers and family offices
We help wealth managers, including banks, financial advisers and family offices, to clearly define expected investment outcomes and potentially improve the value they deliver to their clients. Through our investment solutions platform we offer wealth managers a range of core building blocks, covering every step of their client’s journey, that they can combine to meet their needs. From institutional level strategy design to portfolio monitoring and communication, we partner with them to create a tailored framework that focuses on their long-term goals and shorter-term pressures.
Our research capability covers a wide global range of managers, spanning a significant number of asset class - including private market and illiquid portfolios – and is relied on by thousands of investors around the world. As an unbiased provider we select managers solely on quality, and consistently monitor them for shifts in strategy and operational anomalies. We also use our position to push down manager and other third-party fees with the aim of insuring our clients get the best deal.
We can also support wealth managers on timely implementation and oversight tasks. We can get you to market with new ideas quickly and execute investors’ wishes fast, meaning fewer opportunities are missed. Our investment solutions brings the power, reach and efficiency of Mercer’s global footprint to wealth managers of any size and sophistication around the world, enabling them to sharpen their focus and potentially deliver better client outcomes. Connect with us to explore what we can do for you today.
Investment solutions for insurers
From large, global multi-line insurers to small regional specialists, we help many organisations enhance the oversight of their portfolios, while potentially reducing implementation costs and carefully managing risks. Our investment solutions framework is fundamentally a governance structure that has been designed to give our clients access to as much of our institutional investment capability as they need. It functions as a range of core building blocks that insurers choose and combine to create a precise, tailored package to suit their objectives and budget.
From institutional standard actuarial advice and investment strategy design, through to portfolio implementation and regulatory reporting, we can help on every part of your processes. Thanks to our insurance heritage and significant research capability, we also understand and keep pace with the sector’s regulatory nuances and cashflow requirements. We can therefore construct and implement portfolios, based on diversification and risk management.
We take on dynamic asset allocation duties, enabling our clients’ portfolios to automatically seek protection or opportunities – within pre-agreed guidelines – in times of market volatility. Our operational platform not only ensures our clients comply with regulatory disclosure obligations on carbon, but our strategists can help them avoid underlying investment exposure where they already have notable liabilities.
Whether you need a complete end-to-end solution, informed regulatory reporting or just a trusted second opinion, we have what you need. Connect with us to explore what we can do for you today.
Mick has global responsibility for Mercer's investment solutions business and under his leadership, it has taken a strong position globally. We’re today the world’s largest provider of investment solutions, managing more than $305 billion of assets1 for 1,000+ clients2. Mick is also CEO of Mercer Global Investments Europe, our European investment management business, one of several senior positions he has held since joining in 1999. However, he has also gained extensive market and broad client consulting experience by leading on key Mercer relationships. Mick is a CFA charterholder, holds a Business & Finance degree from Dublin City University and a masters degree in Business from the Michael Smurfit, UCD Business School. He is based in Dublin.
Garvan has over 14 years investment experience and specialises in alternatives, including hedge fund and private market investments. Garvan joined Mercer in 2003, where he worked on the investment consulting team advising institutional investors on investment strategy and manager selection. In 2006, Garvan joined the investment management team where he primarily focusses on the alternative allocations for discretionary client accounts.
Garvan graduated with a first class honours degree in Actuarial and Financial Studies from University College Dublin, Ireland. Garvan is a Fellow of both the Institute of Actuaries in the UK (FIA) and the Society of Actuaries in Ireland (FSAI) as well as a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA).
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Footnotes
1 Highly rated by Mercer’s in-house global strategic research team.
2 As at 31 December 2019
* Past performance is not an indication of future returns. Superior returns cannot be guaranteed
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The investment solutions described on this site may be delivered by different Mercer entities, depending on where you are based. Not all services described may be available in your jurisdiction. Please contact your Mercer representative to see what services are available to you.
Investment management and advisory services for U.S. clients are provided by Mercer Investments LLC (Mercer Investments). Mercer Investments LLC is registered to do business as “Mercer Investment Advisers LLC” in the following states: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia; as “Mercer Investments LLC (Delaware)” in Georgia; as “Mercer Investments LLC of Delaware” in Louisiana; and “Mercer Investments LLC, a limited liability company of Delaware” in Oregon. Mercer Investments is a federally registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The oral and written communications of an adviser provide you with information about which you determine to hire or retain an adviser. Mercer Investments’ Form ADV Part 2A & 2B can be obtained by written request directed to: Compliance Department, Mercer Investments, 99 High Street, Boston, MA 02110.
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Nothing in these documents should be viewed as the provision of investment advice. Information provided is for information purposes only to assist clients to evaluate investment solutions options that may be suitable for their needs. Any decision on what investment strategy to follow is the clients’ decision. Nothing in this document constitutes advice, an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates, products or strategies that Mercer may evaluate or recommend.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Mercer’s ratings do not constitute individualized investment advice. The value of your investments can go down as well as up, and you may not get back the amount you have invested. Investments denominated in a foreign currency will fluctuate with the value of the currency. Certain investments carry additional risks that should be considered before choosing an investment manager or making an investment decision.
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Information contained herein may contain information from third party sources. While the information is believed to be reliable, Mercer has not sought to verify it independently. As such, Mercer makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy of the information presented and takes no responsibility or liability (including for indirect, consequential or incidental damages), for any error, omission or inaccuracy in the data supplied by any third party.
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When Mercer provides assistance through a manager selection service, it may consider a wider range of potential managers for specific strategies than those available through a Mercer Delegated Solution. Managers or Funds available on through a Delegated Solution may therefore differ to those recommended through a manager selection exercise.
Delegated Solutions can only be provided through certain Mercer entities. If you choose to implement all or part of your strategy through such solutions, you will be required to contract separately with the relevant Mercer Delegated Solutions entity.
References to Mercer shall be construed to include Mercer LLC and/or its associated companies.
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