Mercer has topped US$200 billion in its global multi-manager business for the first time.
In a release last week, Kylie Willment, Mercer CIO Pacific, said the group’s ‘delegated solutions’ business – or a manager-bundling product known as ‘implemented consulting’ – had grown to about US$213 billion sourced from a diverse range of global clients after launching in Australia over 20 years ago.
“This significant milestone is a reflection of our strong investment performance together with the depth and breadth of expertise we are able to offer clients,” Willment said in a statement. “Mercer’s considerable market position enables our clients to achieve greater scale and diversity of their investments, which ultimately leads to better net investment outcomes.”
From its Australian origins Mercer had since exported the multi-manager product approach to the US, Canada, Europe and New Zealand, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, the release said.
The business, ultimately owned by Marsh & McLennan, has further branched out from its traditional pension fund stronghold to service “insurance assets, wealth management assets and not-for-profit endowments”, Willment said.
Last week Mercer Australia also confirmed it had lured ANZ Wealth head of investment product research, Will Burkitt, to lead a new business opportunity in the group.
Australian website Industry Moves reported Mercer planned to update the market on Burkitt’s role “in the coming weeks”.
“In offering a different kind of solution, Mr Burkitt will be leading an initiative to explore how Mercer can participate in, and add value, within the senior-living, aged-care and post-retirement space leveraging Mercer’s capabilities in the Health, Wealth and Career domains,” the firm said in a statement.
Burkitt, who joined ANZ in 2012 following stints at UBS, Lonsec and Skandia, officially joins Mercer on January 24.