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.

Climate change, social upheaval and global instability are inescapable for us as a society - but what can we do as investors?

In this in-depth, two part podcast, Mercer's Vanessa Hodge speaks to distinguished behavioural scientist Dr Sweta Chakraborty, who explains how investors can cut through the -- sometimes distressing -- noise to see where our capital allocations can make a real difference and help create a better world for all of us. 

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.

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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 Covid-19 crisis dug a deep economic hole in 2020. If 2021 was the year when the hole was filled, 2022 should see building work commence on the freshly levelled ground. In practice, the recovery has not been as straight forward as that metaphor might suggest. 

Join Rupert Watson, Head of Asset Allocation and Eimear Walsh, Portfolio Manager, Investment Solutions for a discussion on our outlook for markets in 2022.

Read the full paper here

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. 

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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.

Substantial and profound changes are rapidly reshaping the world as we know it, with significant implications for investors. This vibrant re-imaging can be encapsulated in a single word: Metamorphosis.

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 will be shaping markets throughout 2022 and beyond.

Read the full paper here

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. 

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US Interest rates: where to from here? 

With the Fed likely to start tapering their bond purchases this year, attention will soon turn to when they will raise interest rates and how high they will get. Will rates stay at exceptionally low levels or might we see the sort of levels we saw before the Great Financial Crisis?
 

Is it Japan’s time to shine?

Japanese equities have been unloved for a long time, but is the tide turning?  The outlook for the economy doesn’t seem to have changed enormously, but some investors are becoming more optimistic on the outlook for Japanese equities. We’ll discuss the reasons why or whether investors should avoid.
 

The High yield trade

Credit spreads are very tight.  Does this mean returns are likely to be poor or will low default rates and other factors support the asset class?

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. 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.

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How do investors move from curiosity to conviction when it comes to increasing diversity in their portfolios?

In this episode, Bob L Greene, President and CEO of National Association of Investment Companies, the industry association for diverse-owned private equity firms and hedge funds,  joins our Mercer specialists to discuss how LPs could achieve greater diversity whether based on portfolio requirements, board demands, or the opportunity set. To “add diversity,” investors must not only answer important questions, they must know what those important questions are. We will discuss how to start the crucial conversations around gender and racial equity necessary for creating a diverse portfolio.

Additionally, during the episode we will explore the techniques required to find quality managers in the large, current pool of diverse and emerging managers.

Diversity and inclusion is different than ESG. Listen and learn how to effectively consider and implement diversity into private markets portfolios.

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. 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.

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Institutional investors, in growing numbers, are announcing their aims to reduce portfolio emissions to net-zero, with almost half of global assets estimated to be pledged to meet climate change goals.

The drivers are two-fold: the near-term risks and opportunities presented by the low-carbon transition already underway, plus the expectation that a 1.5°C climate scenario will allow investors to consistently meet return objectives over multiple decades.

But behind the flurry of recent announcements to set alignment targets, how is investment in the transition tracking? Will pledges be implemented and what happens if not? What approaches are investors adopting? What’s working and what obstacles remain?

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.

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In this episode, Rupert is joined by colleagues Elizabeth Paine and Matt Scott to discuss developments in the world of cryptoassets and the wider digital ecosystem they underpin including decentralized finance.
 
Whilst it is tempting to dismiss most or all of the thousands of cryptoassets and their use cases as being part of a very old story, the get rich quick scheme, Matt and Lizzie will attempt to convince Rupert that there may indeed be some flowers on the dungheap.
 

As well as discussing the potential for upside in these assets, they will also discuss recent challenges to cryptoassets, including regulatory action and responsible investment concerns.

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. Investing in cryptocurrency carries significant risks that should be considered prior to investing. Opinions expressed are those of the speaker as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions. Statistics quoted have not been specifically verified by Mercer and are likely to change given the volatility of the cryptocurrency markets.

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Equities have come a long way over the last 15 months with some non-tech companies at last outperforming popular technology names. Rupert Watson, will be chatting with Larry Vasquez and Jan-Hein van den Akker, about whether this will continue and discuss the implications of recent signs of inflation and the possibility of higher bond yields over the next few years.

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.

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Global systemic risks could significantly influence investor returns and long-term objectives in both positive and negative ways. Investors should understand what these risks are, along with the opportunities they may also bring, and implement an efficient strategy to integrate them into their portfolios.

Join our guest speakers, as they discuss their findings from our recent white paper - Trendsetters: Transformational Investment Practices of Advanced Investors, and how we developed a framework for addressing global systemic trends that investors can use to benchmark their progress against their peers.

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.

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The focus on diversity, equity and inclusion within the workplace has been increasing for several years but has been accelerated by Covid. Hear why it is important, how we include it in our managers research and how each of us as individuals can make a difference

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.

Read our full important notices - click here