Financial News Investment Consultant of the Year award

Mercer voted top investment consultant in Europe for fourth consecutive year

Mercer investment consulting business has been named European Investment Consultant of the Year by Financial News in the Europe 2006 Awards for Excellence in Institutional Asset Management. The results were based on an extensive survey of investment professionals across Europe who were asked to rank a list of investment consultants. Mercer investment consulting business was rated top for the fourth consecutive year.

Survey respondents recognised Mercer’s expanding footprint in Europe, in a year that saw new operations launched in Sweden and Italy, and further enlargement of existing teams in Germany, France, Ireland and the UK. Mercer’s commitment to manager research was also commended, including the establishment of local manager research resources in Paris and Zurich, and increased coverage of alternative investments.

Andrew Kirton, Head of Mercer Investment Consulting in Europe*, commented: “We are delighted that our progress in building a market-leading European investment consultancy continues to be recognised by professionals across the region.”

* Andrew Kirton is now global head of Mercer's investment consulting business.

 2006 Financial News awards article

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Financial News Awards for Excellence in Institutional Client Service - Best Website

Mercer's Investment Consulting Global Investment Manager Database (www.mercerGIMD.com) has won a Financial News Client Service Award. 

A panel of over 30 client service practitioners voted Mercer's investment consulting business top in the website category, based  on a submission illustrating GIMD’s capabilities.  

GIMD is used by over 600 Mercer investment consultants, to the benefit of all clients. It contains information for over 2,650 active fund management organisations and more than 14,000 strategies. Overall, Mercer's investment consulting business conducts 2,500 manager research meetings a year. GIMD is a truly global investment manager database designed specifically for the institutional market. 

“This industry recognition is a credit to all those who contribute to GIMD, from the in-house developers to the managers that help with completing their data,” said Claire Blackwell, Mercer's global director of marketing and investment consulting business development. 

A press release announcing the win has been prepared for communication to clients and prospects.

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IPE Real Estate Awards

Mercer Investment Consulting has won the gold award for investment consultancy at the 2006 IPE Real Estate Awards. 

Mercer was voted top in a poll of around 100 IPE Real Estate readers, mainly pension funds, to scoop the accolade. 

Greg Wright, principal at Mercer Investment Consulting and head of the specialist property research team, said "We're delighted with this success, which reflects industry confidence in our European real estate research. Our dedicated resources across all regions enable us to provide a compelling global proposition for our clients."  

In 2005, Mercer carried out more than 35 real estate searches globally for clients drawing on expertise from Europe, the United States and Australia. 

According to Mercer's latest survey of European pension funds real estate is the most popular alternative to equities and bonds, with 25% of U.K funds investing in this asset class compared to 62% on average in Continental Europe and Ireland. Virtually all Irish funds have exposure to property, compared to 68% in Switzerland and 41% in the Netherlands.