Mercer Investment Consulting has been appointed by Univest, a multi-country asset pooling vehicle sponsored by Unilever.
Mercer will provide manager research, monitoring and fund structure services for the vehicle’s multi-manager funds, as well as helping to develop governance procedures and policies. The innovative vehicle will be used by Unilever to enable pension funds in different countries to improve the governance and efficiency of their investment manager structures, in particular to help reduce manager risk and enhance expected returns.
Mercer was one of a number of third parties who formed a consortium to assist Unilever with the development of intellectual capital, design and implementation of its cross-border pooling vehicle. Mercer’s involvement with the project stretches back four years to when Mercer was first asked by Unilever to complete a feasibility study on pooling assets.
“We are delighted to have been appointed to provide advice to Unilever’s pooling vehicle,” said Mark Walker, Principal in Mercer Investment Consulting. “We have worked with Unilever over a number of years to help bring this leading edge product to fruition.”
“We expect that many multinationals will want to investigate the benefits of pooling pension fund assets from different countries. Our commitment to Unilever’s pooling project has greatly enhanced our understanding of the complex issues involved in cross-border investing,” added Divyesh Hindocha, Mercer Investment Consulting’s Global Director of Consulting.