Mercer expands investment consulting business with senior appointments, growth in client base

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Australia

Sydney, 11 March 2010

• Graeme Mather, Head of Superannuation Investments Australia / New Zealand

• Hendrie Koster, Senior Associate, specialist in investment strategy, portfolio construction and manager selection

• Jennifer Cowan, Senior Associate, alternatives specialist in unlisted assets including private markets

• Rebecca Dixon, Senior Associate, Responsible Investment

• Jo Allen, Analyst, Mercer Sentinel®.

Mercer’s investment consulting business continues to expand with the appointment of a number of senior practitioners in the first quarter of 2010, reflecting strong demand for its advisory services in Australia and New Zealand.

Based in Sydney, the new hires will work across a number of areas of Mercer’s investment consulting business.

They includeGraeme Mather, taking up the newly created position of Head of Superannuation Investments Australia / New Zealand, andHendrie Koster, a Senior Associate focusing on investment strategy, portfolio construction and manager selection.

Simon Eagleton, Business leader of Mercer’s investment consulting business in Australia and New Zealand said the appointments of Mather and Koster reflect the continuing strong demand for Mercer’s investment consulting expertise.

“Continued consolidation in the superannuation industry has resulted in a number of super funds now able to build investment expertise internally.  The challenge for the consulting industry is to be able to supply these funds and their in-house investment professionals with deep subject matter knowledge in an increasingly broad range of areas. We believe the new business success we’ve had in the past 12 months is due to Mercer’s ability to offer clients access to expert specialist advice across a large range of investment topics. Our clients value the global reach and research coverage that a firm the size of Mercer is able to provide.  Recent major appointments include the Energy Industries Superannuation Scheme, Local Government Superannuation Schemes, Worker’s Compensation Nominal Insurer (for WorkCover NSW) and the Motor Accidents Commission of South Australia.

“We have also created a new position filled by Graeme Mather – Head of Superannuation Investments, to enhance our consulting capability in the areas of Defined Contribution (DC) investment option and strategy design, and reinforce our capabilities in the asset-liability management of Defined Benefit (DB) schemes, particularly as more clients seek our assistance in the dynamic management of the funding of these schemes. Graeme will also be at the cutting edge of our significant global research on target-date and lifecycle DC strategy design”, said Eagleton.

Other new appointments includeJennifer Cowan, a Senior Associate in Mercer’s global alternatives research boutique, specialising in unlisted assets including private equity and credit. Jennifer’s appointment recognises that a weaker global banking system will create significant private market opportunities.

Jo Allenjoins Mercer Sentinel®, our investment operations specialist team to focus primarily on daily and event-driven operational risk, andRebecca Dixonjoins Mercer’s Responsible Investment team as the growing focus by investors on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors increases demand for Mercer’s specialist services in these areas.

Mercer now has more than 100 professional investment consulting staff in Australia and New Zealand.

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