Mercer
The latest research and outlooks in the ProAllocate library
- Investment Industry
Augmenting our investment capabilities – how we are using AI
Mercer Investments outlines its client-first approach to adopting AI in investment consulting, emphasising data as the key driver, keeping humans in the loop to augment rather than automate, and governing deployment through a responsible AI framework. It highlights two pilot concepts, Rate Sense and Market Sense, for expanding manager research and identifying capital allocation signals.
- Undated — see publisherSustainability
Stress-testing the future: climate scenario analysis
Marsh argues that climate scenario analysis, despite its limitations, is best applied at the strategic asset allocation level to help asset owners understand systemic climate risks to growth, inflation and diversification. It complements this with Mercer's ACT tool for company-level transition assessment and manager engagement.
- Undated — see publisherPensions
AI in pensions: From emerging technology to trustee responsibility
Pension trustees should implement a structured AI governance workstream—covering checklists, policies, provider questionnaires and a risk register—to ensure AI use by providers is proportionate, accountable and properly overseen rather than unmonitored.
- Undated — see publisherPensions
The gender pension gap is a financial wellbeing issue
The Pensions Policy Institute's report for now:pensions finds women's pension wealth reaches just 54% of men's by their late 50s, driven mainly by part-time work and caring gaps rather than pay alone. It urges employers to address working patterns and caring responsibilities, not just pay equity, to close the gap.
- Undated — see publisherPrivate Markets
Investing in solutions to the UK homelessness crisis: opportunities for endowments and foundations
Marsh and Better Society Capital argue that rising UK homelessness and strained council finances create a compelling impact-investing opportunity in affordable and supported housing. They outline equity, social outcomes partnerships and lending models, urging endowments and foundations to prioritise additionality, local partnerships and rigorous due diligence.
- Undated — see publisherPensions
Default retirement, the beginning not the end
Ahead of the UK's Pension Schemes Act 2026 guided retirement duty, this paper argues schemes must replace passive support with structured default retirement pathways. It recommends defaults that avoid locking members in, using member data and aligned investment-administration strategies to keep a secure income option open later.
- Undated — see publisherPortfolio Construction
The Marsh Global Asset Owner Barometer 2026
Marsh's Global Asset Owner Barometer 2026 finds asset owners rotating toward infrastructure, inflation-linked assets, credit and private markets amid greater selectivity, while geopolitical risk dominates near-term decisions and technology investment outpaces AI governance.
- Undated — see publisherPrivate Markets
Beyond the core: the rise of mid-market infrastructure
Mid-market infrastructure offers growth and diversification beyond core assets, but wide return dispersion and higher revenue variability mean success hinges on manager selection, disciplined underwriting and active ownership.
- Undated — see publisherThematics
The Longevity Dividend: The Business Case for Linking Health and Wealth
A report by the World Economic Forum's Longevity Economy Initiative argues that treating ageing as a joint health-and-wealth issue could save $5.8 trillion in healthcare costs and add $645 billion in productivity by 2040. It calls for governments, employers and financial institutions to collaborate on preventive interventions like fall prevention, exercise and hearing aids.