Mercer has been appointed by Merseyside Pension Fund (“MPF”) to provide advice on the manager selection process for a passive investment mandate of £1,000m to £1,500m. The index tracking mandate is initially expected to cover UK equities, UK index linked gilts and North American Equities.
Mercer was selected because of its considerable experience in manager research and in helping clients through Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) manager searches. Its well-established local government pension scheme (LGPS) consulting team, based in Manchester, was also an important factor in MPF’s decision, as were the capabilities of Mercer’s specialist responsible investment team.
Peter Wallach, Head of Merseyside Pension Fund, said: “Passive management, for certain asset classes, remains a core element of MPF's investment strategy of manager style diversification and appropriate risk budgeting."
Jo Holden, Head of Mercer’s Local Authority Investment Business, commented: “We’re very pleased to be working with the MPF team on a project that will allow us to showcase a range of our specialist teams; covering manager research, operational due diligence and responsible investment – all brought together by our dedicated LGPS team.”
"Passive managers cannot sell a company's shares to reduce exposure to environmental, social and corporate governance risks,” said Aled Jones, Mercer’s Head of Responsible Investment for EMEA. “It is therefore essential that trustees understand the extent of passive managers' capabilities in addressing responsible investment and stewardship issues. We are pleased to help them achieve this."
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