In the fifth episode of Wegwijs na Invaren, Roel Mehlkopf (Cardano) and Marc Heemskerk (Mercer) talk to pensions lawyer and professor, Mark Heemskerk, about an important and topical theme: pensions in court - particularly in relation to the new Dutch pensions system.

Together they explore different scenarios and discuss: how realistic lawsuits are related to conversion, who could be held responsible (the pension fund, directors or other parties), and which issues could become decisive. 

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract.

Read our full important notices - click here

Global securitized credit has come a long way since the 2008 financial crisis. In this episode of Critical Thinking, Deborah Wardle speaks with Jean de Kock and Thimal Kollure about how the market has evolved, why it is attracting renewed investor interest, and what it may need to build an effective allocation today.

This podcast contains statements on historical performance which may not be repeated in the future. Please note that returns on investments are not guaranteed.

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract.

Read our full important notices - click here

Recorded live at Mercer’s Global Investment Forum in Orlando, in this special edition of the One theme, Two CIOs, Three questions podcast Anne Marie Schultz, US Investments Commercial Leader is joined by US CIO Andrew McDougall and Global Alternatives CIO Garvan McCarthy on the key issues shaping investor decisions today. From geopolitical and energy risk to AI-driven growth, private markets liquidity, and portfolio resilience, they discuss what institutional investors may be underestimating — and how to think about positioning for the second half of the year.

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract.

Read our full important notices - click here

In the fourth episode of Wegwijs na Invaren, Roel Mehlkopf (Cardano) and Marc Heemskerk (Mercer) speak with Jeroen Steenvoorden, the Dutch national pension ombudsman, about what he is seeing in practice and what challenges participants face. 

Together they discuss common topics and patterns in complaints and the balance between the letter and the intent of pension schemes. They also look ahead to what the new pension system may mean for the pension ombudsman and for the practice of pension funds. What may board members learn from this?

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract.

Read our full important notices - click here

In this episode of Wegwijs na Invaren, Roel Mehlkopf and Marc Heemskerk speak with Agnes Joseph about her time in the Dutch Parliament and her involvement in the pension debate. What insights can be drawn from that period, and how does she now view the new pension system?

They also look ahead. What does a society in which people are living longer, and may spend 30 years or more in retirement, mean for pensions? Is the current system sufficiently equipped for this, or are further adjustments needed?

In addition, the role of solidarity, individual choice, and participation is explored in depth. How far should we go in this? And what does this mean for the balance between security and flexibility within the system?

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract.

Read our full important notices - click here

In this episode of our Dutch podcast, Wegwijs na Invaren, Roel Mehlkopf, Pension Fund Adviser at Cardano Netherlands, and Marc Heemskerk, Actuarial Consultant at Mercer, talk with Michael Visser from Nationaal Instituut voor Budgetvoorlichting (Nibud) about purchasing power around retirement and the lessons that can be drawn for the transition to the new pension system. 

Together, they discuss how spending patterns may change as people approach and move through retirement, and what this may imply for purchasing power, the need for indexation, and participant behavior. They then turn to the new pension system and the transition process (“invaren”).  

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions. 

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract. 

Read our full Important notices.

In this episode of Critical Thinking, Mercer’s Commercial Leader for UK Investments, Dan Melley, is joined by historian and "The Rest Is History" podcast co-host Dominic Sandbrook to explore what today’s investors can learn from some of history’s most influential financiers.

Central to the discussion is the interplay among finance, power, and innovation. Across periods and personalities, a consistent set of lessons emerges: successful investors reinvest and adapt, while proximity to political power can both create opportunity and increase risk.

The discussion highlights that, while financial tools and markets evolve, the underlying human dynamics of ambition, risk‑taking, and influence remain remarkably constant.

This content is for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice backed on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions. 

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract. 

Read our important notices

In this episode of Critical thinking, Byron Evans speaks with Rob Ansari and Bev Sharp about unlocking the value of data with AI. They share real examples – from using internal AI tools to streamline manager research to building capital‑flow forecasting – and the lessons learned on data readiness, governance and change management. 

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract. 

Read our full important notices - click here

In this episode of Critical Thinking, Amit Popat is joined by Andreas Vermeiren and Huw van Steenis to explore the rapid rise of asset-backed finance (ABF) and its role in modern portfolios. 

The discussion examines the drivers behind ABF’s recent momentum, as banks retrench and institutional investors, particularly insurers, seek long-duration, stable cash flows. It also highlights the growing role of non-bank capital and the increasing importance of selectivity as the asset class scales. While ABF offers compelling growth potential, success hinges on disciplined credit underwriting and a clear understanding of its role within a broader portfolio.

This content is for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice backed on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions. 

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract.

Read our important notices. 

In this first episode of our Dutch Podcast Wegwijs na Invaren, Roel Mehlkopf, Pension Fund Advisor, Cardano Netherlands, and Marc Heemskerk, Actuarial Consultant at Mercer, speak with financial journalist Jacob Schoenmaker to explore how the media is covering the Netherlands’ transition to the new pension system. They unpack the narratives that tend to surface in reporting – including the often‑mentioned “casino pensioen” – and the impressions left by newspaper headlines, TV segments and radio coverage.

Together, they analyze what journalists choose to highlight, why complex pension matters can be difficult to explain, and how pension experts themselves can better navigate media dynamics and framing. Finally, they also look ahead: what can we expect from pensions media coverage in the coming years?

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions. 

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract. 

Read our full Important notices.