Mercer launches specialist manager platform in Ireland

IRELAND – Mercer Investment Consulting has launched a new product allowing smaller Irish pension funds access to international investment managers.

The new service, Mercer 360, combines the investment consulting experience of Mercer with the fund management skills of Attica Asset Management. Attica provides manager of manager products in the UK, and is owned by its employees and Threadneedle Investment.

Mercer 360 is liability led, and tailored to an individual fund’s liability profile and to the trustee’s/employer’s appetite for risk. Mercer will not manage client monies and Attica will have ultimate responsibility for the selection of managers within the portfolio.

Commenting on the new alliance, Tom Murphy, head of Mercer Investment Consulting in Ireland said: “Many trustees now realise that they should adopt a scheme specific benchmark for their funds, reflecting the scheme’s own liability profile and the trustees and company’s appetite for risk.

“In addition, many trustees of small and mid-sized pension plans would love to gain access to specialist investment management capabilities but do not have a sufficient asset base. Mercer 360 allows them to achieve both of these objectives by providing a single platform through which trustees of small and mid-sized pension plans can implement a “large plan” investment solution,” said Murphy.