Mercer builds on its leading investment research capabilities with two internal leadership appointments in the Asia, Middle East & Africa and Pacific regions 

Asia, 12 August 2022 – Mercer today announced two internal research leadership appointments, underscoring the firm’s commitment in expanding its substantial existing research capabilities and capacity to deliver better-informed investment decisions for clients. Simon Coxeter was appointed Head of Asia Pacific Manager Research and Jean de Kock took on the role of Strategic Research Director for Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) on 1 August 2022.

In his newly created role, Mr Coxeter is responsible for overseeing manager research needs across local markets in the Asia Pacific region and ensuring that resources and efforts are aligned with Mercer’s commercial priorities. He brings a wealth of experience to this role, having been the Strategic Research Director for AMEA and Latin America for the past four years, where Mercer already has an experienced team of over 30 manager and strategic researchers across eight markets.

“Robust evaluations of active and passive investment strategies underpin many of the ways we support our clients to enhance outcomes. I’m excited to be working with our exceptional team of asset class specialists across Asia and Australia to ensure that Mercer’s manager research capabilities continue to fulfil an increasingly complex spectrum of client needs,” Mr Coxeter said.

Mr de Kock will be succeeding Mr Coxeter as Strategic Research Director for AMEA. At the firm since 2012 and in Singapore since 2018, he is currently an integral part of the firm’s fixed income boutique, and actively supports regional consulting teams in Singapore, Hong Kong SAR and Mainland China. He will continue to carry out manager research tasks alongside these new responsibilities on strategic research.

“Mercer’s global Investments business benefits from unparalleled breadth and depth of expertise, far beyond my current focus area of fixed income. In this new role, I look forward to working with thought leaders globally, bringing together the best of our investment strategy work for clients in the AMEA region and contributing to the development of our intellectual capital,” Mr de Kock said.

Fiona Dunsire, Mercer’s Wealth Leader – Asia, Middle East & Africa, said, “The complexities, nuances and dependencies that factor into every investment decision have grown exponentially over the past three years. A high level of rigor and specialization in research is required to identify investment opportunities with the most attractive return and deliver the best investment outcomes to clients.

“These senior appointments will ensure that we support our clients in making smarter investment decisions and helping them to seek better investment outcomes. Simon and Jean will both be playing integral roles as we continue to expand our research coverage in this rapidly evolving region and meet the local market needs.”

Mr Coxeter and Mr de Kock are part of Mercer Wealth’s award-winning team of more than 160 investment professionals across Asia.