Critical thinking

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.

Join Rupert Watson, Head of Asset Allocation Europe and Rachel Volynsky, CIO Canada as they discuss the outlook for equities after significant falls this year.

The FED has faced criticism for being too slow to tighten financial conditions, and to not notice or appreciate what was happening to inflation. With a recession seeming inevitable for many, Rupert and Rachel discuss whether they think we are heading for a recession, but importantly whether it will be a deep or mild recession. With Equity markets having corrected this year and signalling a return towards fundamental valuations, we ask is there more to go and will the FED intervene? Where can investors look for opportunities across developed markets, China and more broadly emerging markets.

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.

Rich Nuzum, President of Investments & Retirement, Mercer discusses his perspectives coming away from Davos with International Head of Clients, Mark McNulty.  Listen as Rich shares learnings and new ideas from meeting CEOs, governments, philanthropists, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs that could help tackle some of the world's biggest challenges.
 
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.

ESG investing refers to environmental, social, and governance considerations that may have a material impact on financial performance, and therefore are taken into account, alongside other economic and financial metrics, in assessing the risk and return potential of an investment. Thematic investing involves investing with a goal, at least in part, to achieve an impact on an environmental, social, or governance issue, alongside generating return and mitigating risk. As always, the decision whether to invest in ESG-themed options, like all options, must be made pursuant to a prudent process with the objective of advancing the financial interest of the plan and its participants.

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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.

In this episode, Amy Ridge is joined by Dr Ashby Monk, research director at Stanford University’s Long-Term Investing initiative, and Billy Charlton, Mercer’s global head of private markets data analytics & research, to discuss some of the biggest issues around private markets and what institutional investors should consider before putting their capital to work.

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.

Reference to private markets raising $1.2trillion is sourced from Bain and company global private equity report 2022

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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 level of portfolio protection from high-quality debt instruments that generations of investors have relied with the 60/40 portfolio has been challenged. Investors need more tools in the toolkit. Gold and some currencies can protect well, but are subject to idiosyncratic risks and are noncontractual; their protective capacities are essentially market conventions or rules of thumb.

Given the need to manage a range of exposures dynamically, we ask is there is a role for hedge fund strategies, which may be better equipped at managing through a transitionary period.

 In this episode, Deborah Wardle is joined by Dave McMillan and Dr Sushil Wadhwani, Chief Investment Officer at PGIM Wadhwani to discuss some of the key questions surrounding the current hedge fund investing landscape and in doing so, look to answer the question of whether hedge funds are staging a comeback.

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.

In this episode, Angelika Delen is joined by impact investing expert Charly Kleissner, PhD to discuss the difference between impact and deep impact investing, the importance of transparency and how investors need to work together to change finance as opposed to just financing change.

Charly Kleissner is an impact investor. He believes that the real meaning of wealth is to make a positive contribution to humanity and the planet. He is a leader of the deep impact movement which is not only treating the symptoms of our failing economic system, but its root causes – with a level of awareness and consciousness that is non-anthropocentric. He sees impact investing not as an intellectual exercise, but as an expression of who he really is.

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.

Why is water, essential to life on earth, not more central to investors’ decision making?

In this episode dedicated to Earth Day, Mark Longbottom is joined by Helga Birgden and John Elmore-Jones to discuss their latest research into the importance of water, as a critical resource, when considering investments. They explore why investment into protecting water as core to people and the environment needs an urgent reset, and they outline what approaches investors can take to address the risks of overlooking the importance of investing in our planet.

Mercer has recently been working in partnership with the Valuing Water Initiative, CDP and the Water Footprint Network on a project to increase water-related transparency and awareness among financial institutions.

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 Russia – Ukraine conflict continues to cause uncertainty for investors. Energy prices and Inflation continues to rise globally and the conversation has turned from transitory inflation to the possibility of stagflation.

Listen to Erin Lefkowitz and Rupert Watson as they discuss their outlook for interest rates, inflation and markets more broadly and the possible implications for 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.
 
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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 escalating conflict in Ukraine has resulted in far-reaching outcomes for financial markets and the global economy. Rich Nuzum, President of Investments & Retirement, Mercer, and Jo Holden, Global Head of Investment Research, discuss the conflict’s short and long-term implications for the real economy and for investment portfolios, what does this mean for energy prices, inflation and interest rates. They also provide a warm up session to our fast-approaching annual Mercer Global Investment Forum Europe on 28-29 March, and share sneak peaks of the key topics that will be covered. They explain how they find their own ideas for innovation, and the importance for investment professionals to gather as a community for shaping the global investments map. Moderated by Annabell Mathiesen-Siem, Mercer Norway CEO.

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.

Bitcoin and Gold are often compared to one another with Bitcoin having even been referred to as “digital gold”. In this episode, Nick White, Matt Scott and our special guest Urs Bolt, discuss the similarities, differences, and obstacles Bitcoin faces to make it mainstream amongst institutional investors.

Guest speaker: Urs Bolt
Urs has 30 plus years’ experience in the financial services industry, mainly in wealth management, investment banking and banking technology business. His core expertise is to develop and roll out new digital business platforms. 
Urs’ current focus is helping FinTech and WealthTech companies and financial service providers review/refocus business strategies.
Urs is co-initiator of the Swiss Open Wealth Association with the goal to accelerate the development of new ecosystems in wealth management and private banking. Beside that he actively contributes to the progress of the Swiss and global ecosystem in crypto finance as an opinion leader and a passionate lecturer in ecosystems in crypto finance in post-graduate courses.

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

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 Russia – Ukraine conflict is causing a lot of uncertainty for investors and is an evolving situation. The implications from the conflict and subsequent sanctions from global leaders are far reaching and yet to be fully understood. 

Join Susan McDermott, US Strategic Research Director and Rupert Watson, Head of Asset Allocation, as they discuss the potential impact on inflation, energy prices, trade and markets more broadly.
 

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