Critical thinking

We recorded this episode as a part of a podcast series on the occasion of COP27. Each episode illustrates the breadth and depth of Marsh McLennan’s climate capabilities. The issues addressed throughout the series include investment transition, the insurance sector’s role in climate adaption, communities and businesses’ exposure to physical risks, and how companies need to address the inextricable link between climate and nature.

Find more information about how Mercer, Marsh and other Marsh McLennan businesses will be addressing these issues at COP27 and beyond, visit https://www.marshmclennan.com/pages/climate-hub.html



Max Messervy Head of Sustainable Investment, Americas is joined by Rich Nuzum, Executive Director, Investments, Global Chief Investment Strategist and Cara Williams, Global Head of ESG and Sustainability, Wealth Management and Multinational Client Lead for Wealth to reflect on what inspired them most at COP27. They also share the key themes that emerged while in Egypt and the lessons that institutional investors should take away following the outcomes at COP27.



Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.


This content is for institutional investors and 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 position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.


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

We recorded this episode as a part of a podcast series on the occasion of COP27. Each episode illustrates the breadth and depth of Marsh McLennan’s climate capabilities. The issues addressed throughout the series include investment transition, the insurance sector’s role in climate adaption, communities and businesses’ exposure to physical risks, and how companies need to address the inextricable link between climate and nature.


Find more information about how Mercer, Marsh and other Marsh McLennan businesses will be addressing these issues at COP27 and beyond, visit https://www.marshmclennan.com/pages/climate-hub.html



Inge West, Sustainable Investment Specialist in Mercer’s Investment Solutions team is joined by Helga Birgden, Global Chair on Sustainable Investment at Mercer and John Green, Global Chief Commercial Officer of Ninety One, to explore how asset managers are supporting the climate transition and gain practical insights on how global capital can be harnessed to target local climate challenges.  

 
Read the survey findings here https://www.mercer.com/investing-sustainably



Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.



This content is for institutional investors and 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 position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.



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

Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.



As 2022 comes to a close, insurance companies are facing significant price losses across their portfolios, particularly within long-duration fixed income. On the horizon are the risks of a global recession, peaking fundamentals, persistent inflation and energy crises, particularly in Europe.

We recently surveyed the insurance market globally to find out what their key concerns, challenges and opportunities are within their investment portfolios and how they plan to tackle these. With these findings in mind we have produced what we believe should be the top considerations for insurers in 2023.

To discuss the findings and the considerations, Colin Tipping, Global Head of Insurance Solutions is joined by Eryn Bacewich from the US team and William Gibbons from the UK/Europe team.

Read the full paper and survey findings here:  https://www.mercer.com/our-thinking/wealth/insurer-investment-considerations.html


This content is for institutional investors and 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 position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.



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

Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.


Where are we now as we reach the end of 2022? Economies have overheated and have begun slowing down, with some potentially in recession already. Are we there yet? Will monetary tightening lead to a deep recession? 

Samantha Davidson US OCIO Leader is joined by Rupert Watson, Head of Asset Allocation, Europe and Anthony Brown, Director of Capital markets in the US at Mercer to explore. 

Read the full paper here https://www.mercer.com/our-thinking/wealth/economic-outlook.html



This content is for institutional investors and 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 position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.


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

Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.


2022 will certainly be remembered as momentous, and it may take some time to fully understand the ramifications of the events that occurred this year. Any of these events individually would likely have had a profound impact on markets, both public and private. However, in combination, these events, along with other relevant factors, have certainly pulled the rug out from under markets.

Billy Charlton, Global Head of Private Markets Data Analytics and Research is joined by Amarik Ubhi, Global Head of Infrastructure and David Scopelliti, Global Head of Private Debt to discuss how these significant events are affecting various private market segments and what we expect their ramifications to be in 2023.

Read the paper here https://www.mercer.com/our-thinking/wealth/alternative-investment-considerations.html


This content is for institutional investors and 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 position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.


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

Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.


2022 brought a combination of interconnected challenges for all investors including endowments and foundations, from geopolitical conflicts to high inflation, supply chain problems to financial market volatility.

In this episode, Cori Trautvetter is joined by Gilles Lavoie and Gareth Donegan to explore what we believe are the top considerations for endowments and foundations in 2023. They also explore the approaches that could support endowments and foundations in navigating through them to achieve long-term success, while managing short-term disruptions.

Read the full paper here https://www.mercer.com/our-thinking/wealth/top-considerations-endowments-and-foundations.html


This content is for institutional investors and 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 position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.


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

Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.


The past decade was one of the best on record for traditional 60/40 portfolios, but a sharp rise in macroeconomic volatility caused this period of success to come to an abrupt halt. 

To explore what effect this has had on financial intermediaries globally, Conor Power is joined by Gregg Sommer and Adeline Tan as they also discuss what we believe are the top considerations for financial intermediaries as we transition into 2023.

Read the full paper here https://www.mercer.com/our-thinking/wealth/top-considerations-for-financial-intermediaries.html


This content is for institutional investors and 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 position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.


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

We recorded this episode as a part of a podcast series on the occasion of COP27. Each episode illustrates the breadth and depth of Marsh McLennan’s climate capabilities. The issues addressed throughout the series include investment transition, the insurance sector’s role in climate adaption, communities and businesses’ exposure to physical risks, and how companies need to address the inextricable link between climate and nature.

Find more information about how Mercer, Marsh and other Marsh McLennan businesses will be addressing these issues at COP27 and beyond, visit https://www.marshmclennan.com/pages/climate-hub.html



This episode seeks to provide an overview of the insurance industry’s role in advancing climate resilience, with a particular focus on de-risking, funding and incentivizing ex-ante pre-event climate risk reduction and adaptation measures. It also explores the exciting new initiative being pursued by the United Nations’ Race to Resilience unit to accelerate and scale those efforts.

Leading the discussion is Francis Bouchard, the Managing Director for Climate for Marsh McLennan’s Advantage unit, who is joined by Dr. Swenja Surminski, Managing Director, Climate, Marsh McLennan – and a long-time Peruvian climate negotiator and UN Resilience Hub official Jorge Gastelumendi.

Read the paper here


Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

This content is for institutional investors and 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 position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.


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

Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.



We have seen significant upheaval in global markets in the last twelve months, with a combination of the pandemic recovery, regional conflict, supply chain challenges and technological advancements having a profound impact on the world around us. 

The impact of these events are similar to recent history, and allows us to draw on these experiences and adapt portfolios to the current landscape.

In this episode, Jo Holden, Global Head of Investment Research speaks with Nick White, Global Strategic Research Director and Matt Scott, Senior Investment Research Specialist, on the themes and opportunities we believe investors should consider in their decision-making in 2023 and beyond.


Read the paper here: https://www.mercer.com/our-thinking/wealth/investor-themes-and-opportunities.html 


This content is for institutional investors and 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 position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.


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

We recorded this episode as a part of a podcast series on the occasion of COP27. Each episode illustrates the breadth and depth of Marsh McLennan’s climate capabilities. The issues addressed throughout the series include investment transition, the insurance sector’s role in climate adaption, communities and businesses’ exposure to physical risks, and how companies need to address the inextricable link between climate and nature. 


Find more information about how Mercer, Marsh and other Marsh McLennan businesses will be addressing these issues at COP27 and beyond, visit https://www.marshmclennan.com/pages/climate-hub.html

High seas: Enabling a climate resilient Suez Canal


The blocking of the Suez Canal in May, 2021 demonstrated the vulnerability of global supply chains to disruptions to the world's, canals and waterways. The just in time nature of shipping means that there is limited redundancy, and these kinds of routes become pressure points for cascading risk. With increasing incidents of disruptive weather events driven by climate change, greater focus needs to be given to understanding these potential critical points of failure.

Nicholas Faull, Head of Climate and Sustainability, Risk and Innovation at Marsh is joined by colleagues Dr. Bev. Adams, Head of Climate and Catastrophe Resilience based in the UK and Scott Williams, ESG Coordinating Director for the Middle Eastern Africa region to explore the importance of this case study.

Read the full report here


Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.


This content is for institutional investors and 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 position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.


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