Mercer Global Investment Forums 2023: Atlanta, US (2024)

Defined contribution: The many flavors of delegation
Joseph Park, Director, Benefits, Simon Property Group
Miriam Tolbert, Defined Contribution Segment Leader – Southeast (Moderator)
Shonna Turner, Senior HR Director, North America, Riskonnect, Inc.

Defined contribution (DC) clients and Mercer experts discuss different models of delegation within DC plans, including the process for delegation, the appeal of different models, and the impact on members and HR colleagues.

Defined benefit:The end is just the beginning: Investing through a plan termination
Dave Cantor, Senior Investment Consultant
Chris Ebersole, Co-Chair, Defined Benefit Investment Committee

With plan funded statuses at 15-year highs and plan terminations accelerating, sponsors and their investment consultants/managers need to be prepared to design appropriate investment strategies. Although current hedging techniques are well known and employed, each plan termination requires a unique solution. In this session, we introduce a framework and discuss a case study in which the approach was successfully deployed.

E&F and Healthcare:Old issues, new questions: Alternatives in endowment portfolios
Gurjeet Dosanjh, Private Markets Consultant
John Jackson, Global Leader Hedge Funds Research
Kenny Pitman, Alternatives Investment Director

Each market cycle raises new questions about old issues: liquidity, rates and the evolution of capital markets. In this breakout, we explore the ramifications of the latest trends on the use of alternative investments in endowment portfolios.

Wealth management:Managing portfolios in a changing economic landscape
Jason Blackwell, Chief Investment Strategist, The Colony Group
Steve Doorn, SVP, Director of Portfolio Management, Legacy Trust
David Hyman, Senior Wealth Management Leader (Moderator)
Brian Pollak, Partner, Portfolio Manager, Evercore

The past decade, ending in 2021, was one of the best on record for traditional 60/40 portfolios. Investors now face elevated levels of inflation, higher interest rates and increased market volatility. Additionally, investors are rethinking globalization and considering ESG more thoughtfully. Ensuring portfolios are well diversified both across and within asset classes — as well as by geography, sectors, factors, investment styles and nontraditional market beats — remains critical.

Defined contribution:Mercer’s new defined contribution investment structure: The consultant and asset manager perspective
Jennifer Archer, Head of Institutional Defined Contribution & Consultants Sales, JP Morgan
Holly Verdeyen, US Defined Contribution Leader

Mercer’s new objectives-based defined contribution (DC) investment menu provides the backdrop for a debate about active versus passive in US large-cap equity, lifetime income implementation and the core DC menu options.

Defined benefit:Higher rates, higher stakes: How are you setting your hedging strategy?
Julia Kotchetkov, Senior Pension Strategy and Solutions Consultant
Erin Lefkowitz, Senior Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, OCIO

With the significant rise in interest rates during 2022, we find ourselves in a very different rate environment than we’ve seen in recent history. We discuss what that means for DB plan liability-hedging portfolios, covering the rules of the road for setting hedging strategy, how those rules may have changed in this new environment and what you should be thinking about from an implementation perspective.

E&F and Healthcare:Higher learning: What the NACUBO survey really says
Geoff Wilson, Senior Investment Consultant
Texas Hemmaplardh, Not-for-Profit Business Leader

At the end of every fiscal year, the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) surveys higher-education institutions on the investment management practices of their endowment portfolios. In this session, Mercer discusses some of the not-so-obvious insights and trends presenting important lessons for endowment fiduciaries.

Wealth management:Differentiating wealth management firms with an alternatives investment program
Toussaint Bailey, CEO/Founder, Uplifting Capital
Molly Bennard, CEO, Connectus Wealth Advisors
Andrew Snyder, Director, Product & Research, CAIS Group
Casey Wamsley, Senior Investment Consultant (Moderator)

We focus on the best practices for building out robust alternatives programs within wealth management, including reducing risk, lowering costs and achieving better client outcomes. This session outlines clear strategic plans for outlining institutional approaches to alternatives programs, including hedge funds, private equity, private debt and real estate. Avoiding the “flavor of the day,” this panel discusses how focusing on governance and strategy delivers differentiated outcomes for clients.

Defined contribution: Taking diversification to the next level
Kelly Henson, Senior Investment Consultant
Hugh Merkel, DC OCIO Portfolio Management Leader

As American retirement savings continue to shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) plans, many DC plan sponsors are facing an increasingly complex challenge. Tasked with providing their employees with access to best-in-class retirement benefits, they’re also navigating an ever-changing legislative landscape and an increasingly litigious environment. As a result, plan sponsors are focusing on offering robust investment options for their participants’ portfolios. These sponsors seek to include less-traditional asset classes to improve participant outcomes via greater net-of-fee risk-adjusted returns. In this session, we discuss how DC plan sponsors can take diversification to the next level for the benefit of their participants while also complying with new legislation and navigating fiduciary governance concerns.

Defined benefit:Rethinking the return seeking portfolio for a new environment
Neeraj Baxi, US Defined Benefit Investment Research Director
Stephanie Lane, US DB OCIO Asset Allocation Leader

This session explores how to build a more effective return-seeking portfolio for a changed economic environment in which public equity is no longer the obvious solution. We tackle some of the hurdles plans face and explore how to overcome barriers to building the optimal portfolio.

E&F and Healthcare:Annual check-up: Taking the vitals of not-for-profit healthcare investment portfolios
Chris Cozzoni, Healthcare Practice Leader
Chris Kuhlman, Senior Investment Consultant

Many hospitals and healthcare systems are experiencing shrinking margins due to soaring costs for labor, goods and services. As a result, healthcare allocators are ensuring their investment portfolios have ample cash and liquidity to support the shortfalls from operations. At the same time, they need to generate returns to compensate for declining margins. In this session, we discuss how healthcare investors are positioning portfolios in the face of mounting operational challenges and volatile markets.

Wealth management: Balance sheet strategies
Thomas Hettinger, Strategic Advisory Leader, Guy Carpenter
Chris Tschida, Head of US Insurance

Guy Carpenter and Mercer experts discuss the benefits of holistically managing risk and capital for insurance companies. By aligning underwriting and investment risk through an enterprise view, insurance companies can improve the stability and growth of company value over time.

Defined contribution: DEI within DC plans
Jennifer Flodin, Central Region DC Leader
Tamara Larsen, US ESG Investments Practice Leader Keisha Olinger, Atlanta Office Leader (Moderator)

Using the tools of plan design, demographic analysis/personas and investment strategies, we examine ways to apply a DEI lens to retirement savings.

Defined benefit:Are alternative assets the ‘secret sauce’ your corporate defined benefit plan needs?
Nick Davies, Large Client Leader
Amy Ridge, Investment Director – Private Markets

Worried about complexity and cost in your defined benefit plan? Thinking about de-risking and possible pension annuity buyouts or plan termination? Concerned that alternative assets are expensive and illiquid? This session addresses these issues and discusses how to get the best out of alternatives to mitigate the cost while managing your pension plan risk. In the process, we sort the facts from the myths of investing in alternative assets.

E&F and Healthcare:Portfolio liquidity: What is it good for?
Chris Kuhlman, Senior Investment Consultant
Don Wehrmann, Senior Investment Consultant

Not-for-profit investors are reexamining their liquidity needs amid a rapidly evolving operating and market environment. As allocations to illiquid investments increase, institutions are searching for an efficient balance between maximizing returns and maintaining sufficient liquidity. In this session, we discuss how investors should evolve their portfolio liquidity needs.

Insurers:Private markets for insurers
Nelson Pereira, Alternatives Investment Director
Stephanie Thomes, Senior Insurance Investment Consultant

Insurers across various liabilities and size continue to allocate to the private markets to improve returns and grow surplus. Sustained growth in this area is unsurprising following a decade of low interest rates and the creation of more capital-efficient structures for US insurers. As a result, allocations to private markets have become a vital component of insurance companies’ investment strategies.