Financial News Investment Consultant of the Year award

Mercer takes on local players to achieve growth in Europe

After a year of challenges, Mercer investment consulting clinched the title of Investment Consultant of the Year.

At a time when its biggest rival, Watson Wyatt, was hit by the after shocks of the acquisition of the UK business by its US counterpart, Mercer has put aside the distraction of problems in other parts of the Marsh & McLennan group to make significant inroads into new markets in continental Europe.

According to European business leader Andrew Kirton*, Mercer has a good footprint in the continent's more developed markets - the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries.

Kirton said: "We are probably more developed than anyone else. The Netherlands is going through a period of change in the move to a mark-to-market actuarial valuation and accounting structure. That will cause a lot of companies to take much more interest in pension arrangements. Where that has happened elsewhere, such as the UK, it has led to a substantial increase in demand for investment consultants' services.

"Ireland is probably four or five years behind the UK, where most defined benefit pension funds are closed and the world is turning to defined contribution. In Ireland, companies are starting to ask questions about the costs of pension funds, so we are expecting that market to develop over the next few years."

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

 2005 Financial News awards article

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UK Pensions Award

Delivering service excellence through innovative solutions 

Standard Life's group chief executive Sandy Crombie presents the award to Mercer Investment Consulting's Andy Barber
Delivering service excellence through bespoke, innovative solutions is the objective of all investment consultants. And Mercer Investment Consulting has achieved exactly that after collecting this year's Investment Consultant of the Year award at the UK Pension Awards.

Mercer says it can demonstrate its success through business wins, innovative strategic investment solutions and investment manager knowledge. Head of UK investment consulting Andrew Kirton puts the win down to a consistent year in client care and evolution in service offering.

He said: "I felt 2004 was a good year for us. We can point to a well rounded set of achievements, delivering on what  we promised to our clients. We increased our client base, strengthened our team, improved our manager knowledge and successfully implemented a number of innovative solutions."

"Ultimately it is what the clients think that matters and we believe that we have continued to meet our clients ever changing needs."