Mercer acquires investment adviser India Life Capital

Mercer acquired India Life Capital, a Mumbai-based investment advisory firm, according to an announcement by the New York-based consultant.

Details of the deal, as well as the purchase price, were not disclosed.

The acquisition of India Life Capital, which advises 150 retirement trusts and institutional funds with combined assets of more than 300 billion rupees ($4.4 billion), will position Mercer to expand its presence in India, the announcement said.

Ongoing pension reform in India is helping boost demand for third-party investment advisory services, a business Mercer has grown rapidly in the U.S., Europe and Australia in recent years, a Mercer news release said.

Mercer executives have predicted Asia is poised to embrace delegated management as well, with acquisitions one key to shortening the time needed to extend the firm's footprint in countries throughout the region. Mercer has $240 billion in assets under delegated management.

The acquisition of India Life Capital is the second in the Asia-Pacific this year for Mercer's delegated solutions business, following its January acquisition of BFC Asset Management Co., a Tokyo-based hedge fund multimanager firm.

Anish Sarkar, CEO of Mercer India, said in the release that the India Life acquisition will enable Mercer "to offer investment advisory services to retirement funds and other institutional assets," and bring the "full portfolio of Mercer's investment solutions to our clients here."