Mercer has been appointed by the Merseyside pension fund to provide advice on the manager selection process for a passive investment mandate worth between £1,000m and £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. 

The fact that the firm currently acts as consultant to the local government pension scheme (LGPS) was also an important factor in the scheme's decision to hire Mercer, as were the capabilities of its specialist responsible investment team.

Peter Wallach, head of Merseyside pension fund, said: "Passive management, for certain asset classes, remains a core element of the scheme's investment strategy of manager style diversification and appropriate risk budgeting."

Aled Jones, Mercer's head of responsible investment for EMEA said: "Passive managers cannot sell a company's shares to reduce exposure to environmental, social and corporate governance risks. 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."

First published 13.07.2012
azeevalkink@wilmington.co.uk