The Co-operative Group has appointed Mercer to provide consulting services for the alternative investments in its defined benefit career average earnings pension fund.

These will be phased in over two years to represent 13% of the total fund.

Mike Thorpe, pension finance and risk controller at the Co-operative Group, said: "Given the specialist nature of the alternative investment market, [Mercer] was particularly strong from a governance perspective and we were reassured by the depth of Mercer's research that underpins the selection and monitoring of managers."

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