Australia
Melbourne, 30 August 2010

Mercer has been appointed to an Implemented Consulting mandate by the Anglican Diocese of Sydney. The arrangement involves Mercer tailoring a new multi-manager fund focussed on socially responsible investing - a key criteria for the client.

The appointment follows the success of an established investment consulting relationship over the past two years. Mercer now provides the Anglican Diocese of Sydney with a complete investment solution including investment strategy review, ongoing investment consulting advice and reporting as well as investment management via Mercer’s multi-manager investment funds.

“Mercer has extensive experience designing and implementing successful investment strategies to meet the goals of a range of faith-based organisations, charities, endowments and foundations. They have very specific spending policies, governance issues and ethical considerations that impact how they invest the funds entrusted to them. Mercer now consults to more than 12 faith-based organisations in Australia, and more than 20 foundations in the Australia/New Zealand market and we recently hosted a roundtable conference specifically for this group,” said Gary Burke, Australia/New Zealand Business Leader for Mercer’s investment management business. 

“It’s a growing area for us and we’re committed to serving the needs of these clients,” added Graeme Mather, Australia/New Zealand Business Leader for Mercer’s investment consulting business. He credits the depth of Mercer’s asset liability modelling, the expertise of its spending policy specialists, responsible investing expertise and a willingness to partner with clients as key factors in Mercer’s growing success in these areas.

Mr Burke cited the launch of the Mercer Socially Responsible Australian Shares Fund, which was developed for the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, as an example of Mercer’s willingness to partner with its clients.

“Our investment consultants had already built a strong relationship with the Sydney Anglicans over the previous two years, developing a thorough understanding of their investment philosophy and operating environment. With this knowledge, we were able to respond swiftly and with flexibility to tailor our services to meet their needs,” Mr Burke explained.