Mercer

Asset owners haven’t been challenged with a sustained crisis in nearly 20 years, and it’s possible they’ll get one just as they make the jump into markets they’re unfamiliar with. Governance will be key. As inflation climbs and market volatility increases, Rich Nuzum, president of Mercer’s investments and retirements business, says that asset owners need…

Mercer has urged investors to consider a wider range of inflation scenarios in portfolio design plans as price uncertainty ramps up across the world. In a new paper, the global multi-manager and consultancy firm says investors now face more complicated decisions amid confusing inflation signals. “Adding a less predictable inflation environment now increases complexity for…

Local equities fund shops have increasingly allocated to Australian shares over the last four years, a new Mercer NZ analysis has found, partly to ease pressure from ballooning assets under management. The Mercer study of a dozen NZ fund managers found Australian shares now represent 34 per cent of their collective portfolios compared to 26…

There is a growing fear that the post-YFYS landscape will be dominated by a handful of megafunds, with competition – and differentiated member outcomes – disappearing. Super funds are about to experience a quick and bloody cull. With the first underperformance results expected on September 1, and letters to be sent out soon after advising…

The long-awaited mega-merger between two global financial services giants, Aon and Willis Towers Watson, has hit a major snag as the US Department of Justice moved to block the transaction. In a statement last week (June 16), the Department of Justice (DOJ) says it had “filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today to block Aon’s [US]$30…

The discussion about the best way to build and manage an appropriate exposure to China is becoming more urgent. Mercer has helped investors with some new research. In a paper entitled: ‘Positioning Your Portfolio for the Future of Emerging Markets – the case for a dedicated China equity allocation’ the global advisory and funds management…

The Actuaries Institute has suggested three main initiatives to help address the gender gap in retirement in a study prepared to coincide with the current ‘2021 All Actuaries Virtual Summit’. The report by a group of prominent actuaries and super specialists, tackles the decades-old issue of women retiring with less money than men from a…

In a highly unusual move, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has cracked down on fund managers advertising post-COVID boom-time annual returns. The regulator has warned managers that advertising any “phenomenal” returns garnered over the 12 months to March 31 could “mislead investors”. Global share markets bounced back spectacularly from the brief COVID-induced shock early last…

Tricia Nguyen, a principal of Mercer, has been promoted to head of Mercer Sentinel following the move by Peter Baker to a part-time role with the business. The changeover had been planned for some time. Nguyen, who became a principal of the group on joining Mercer Sentinel in 2015, said that her move was part…

David Knox, Mercer senior partner, actuary and founder of the global pensions systems index, threw down a challenge to the Retirement Income Review to look at a ‘universal pension’ for all Australians. He is now talking to the industry. Knox, the lead author of the Mercer Global Pension Index, says Australia, which already has one…