Mercer and Macquarie expand on relationship

Rashmi Mehrotra

Mercer Investment Consulting has expanded its relationship with Macquarie Wealth Management, with the research group now providing two levels of service, one of which is an adviser research package.

Mercer Investment Consulting head of retail services Rashmi Mehrotra said the adviser package is customised with Macquarie branded reports on model portfolios delivered through the Mercer >IS< research platform for advisers.

The package also includes other adviser tools such as market commentaries, fund profiles, research profiles, quarterly reviews of well-rated managers and a quant tool allowing advisers to chart performance.

According to Mehrotra, the expansion between Mercer and Macquarie’s relationship comes as little surprise.

“We were consulting to them on asset allocation services for a year. They liked what they saw and so wanted us to help with other things,” she said.

“Rather than compete with retail research houses that focus on managed funds ratings, Mercer offers a comprehensive investment consulting service that includes ratings on managed funds, but is wider in scope as it includes customised advice on asset allocation, model portfolios and alternative asset classes and products such as agribusiness and structured products. We do this through a dedicated consultant for each client, who is supported by various global research teams and specialists.”

The other level of service Mercer provides is a consulting service to the centralised research team. Mehrotra said Mercer’s consulting services include advice on the approved list and model portfolio, sector reviews that draw on the company’s institutional manager research, advice on strategic and dynamic asset allocation, quarterly monitoring of model portfolios and professional development presentations.

Mehrotra said Macquarie would also have access to a dedicated investment consultant who would participate in the investment committee meetings.

Macquarie Wealth Management has about 60 financial planners across seven offices. In addition, this research is available to the more than 200 brokers in Macquarie Equities.