BT Pension Scheme Management, which oversees the investment management of the £32 billion ($48 billion) BT Pension Scheme, London, hired Mercer to provide implemented consulting services for “a range of equity and fixed-income portfolios,” according to a Mercer news release.
Mercer will provide investment advice, manager research and selection, and portfolio construction and implementation recommendations to BTPS trustees, who retain discretion over investments, said Amit Popat, a Mercer partner and lead consultant, in an interview.
In addition to providing consulting advice, Mercer may assume management of portfolios, similar to an £480 million European ex-U.K. equity portfolio that BTPS hired Mercer to manage in a manager-of managers format about 18 months ago, Mr. Popat said.
Frank Naylor, head of investments at BTPS, declined to be interviewed. In the news release, he said: “We were impressed with the breadth of Mercer's capability, and their desire and commitment to work with us as a strategic partner differentiated them from their competition. Their ability not only to advise but also to be able to execute was key to our decision to appoint them.”
