Merseyside Pension Fund appoints adviser for investment management

Merseyside Pension Fund (MPF) has appointed Mercer to provide advice on the manager selection process for a passive investment mandate of £1,000 million to £1,500 million.

The index-tracking mandate is initially expected to cover UK equities, UK index linked gilts and North American equities.

Peter Wallach, head of Merseyside Pension Fund, said: “Passive management, for certain asset classes, remains a core element of MPF’s investment strategy of manager-style diversification and appropriate risk budgeting.

Jo Holden, head of Mercer’s local authority investment business, added: “We’re very pleased to be working with the MPF team on a project that will allow us to showcase a range of our specialist teams: covering manager research, operational due diligence and responsible investment, all brought together by our dedicated local government pension scheme (LGPS) team.

Aled Jones, head of responsible investment, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), added: “Passive managers cannot sell a company’s shares to reduce exposure to environmental, social and corporate governance risks.

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“It is therefore essential that trustees understand the extent of passive managers’ capabilities in addressing responsible investment and stewardship issues.†We are pleased to help them achieve this.”

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