Mercer launches rival to iRate

MercerInvestment Consultingis set to produce publicly available fund manager and product ratings, a move that could see the group in direct competition with the likes ofvan Eyk,Morningstar,Assirt, InvestorWeb andLonsdale Securities.

The push to provide retail ratings will work in tandem with the construction of a web based research tool for advisers, and may prove to be a rival to the van Eyk research tool, iRate.

Mercer head of retail consulting Cecily Williams says the group is “building a web site that our existing clients can access, with information about managers and products they currently use, as well as a whole range of other managers”.

The model will be largely subscription based, with levels of subscription providing information ranging from economics to manager profiles, manager research and asset allocation research. The site will also include news as well as style and performance analysis tools.

According to Williams, the group made the move into this area because Mercer identified a significant increase in the size of the managed funds market.

“Our traditional market base has largely included corporate super funds, which are now starting to fold into master trusts. There is an increasing retailisation of the market,” Williams says.

While the group is not yet in a position to announce specific details, Williams says it will reach a broader share of the market than currently held. While aimed at existing clients, the service will also be rolled out to the external market.

Williams says the group is confident the capabilities of the service will improve and increase throughout the year, as more and more people are “looking for wholesale solutions for retail customers”.

“The [retail] market is looking for the industrial strength grunt that wholesale research institutions can offer.”

Traditionally an asset consultant for superannuation funds, Mercer flagged its interest in the retail side of funds management research last year with its attempt to purchase the van Eyk Research group. However, the deal fell through, leaving Mercer to push into retail on its own.

Mercer’s move into the retail funds management research scene was further enhanced by the appointment of three new recruits to its team of retail funds management analysts in October last year.

Since then, the group has been hired to provide investment research toAMP Financial Planning,Australian Skandiaand theTynan McKenziedealer group.