Significant client interest in alternative assets classes in the Pacific region has prompted Mercer to grow its capabilities and appoint Marcus De Kock as its new alternatives investment director for the region.
De Kock, who joined from Mercer’s UK Institutional Investment Solutions business where he was a senior investment strategist, would be responsible for bringing Mercer’s global alternatives capabilities to asset owners in Australia and New Zealand.
Prior to joining Mercer UK in 2018, De Kock gained 13 years of experience in asset class research, investment advisory and consulting services for institutional investors in the UK.
He also provided specialist investment advice on a range of asset classes, including strategic asset allocation consulting, portfolio construction, manager selection and advice implementation.
Mercer’s Pacific investments leader, Simon Eagleton, said: “Our substantial global alternatives capabilities have to date flown largely under the radar in the Pacific, but the role that private markets can play in investors’ portfolios is more important than ever.
“With Marcus on the ground, we’re in a better position to ensure our clients can take advantage of our specialist private markets credentials to enhance their portfolios.”
As a result of greater demand locally for alternatives and portfolio diversification, in November 2020 Mercer launched to external investors an Australian-domiciled version of its Global Private Debt Fund, which had been internally managed since 2014, the manager said.
Globally, the firm had approximately US$160 billion ($214 billion) in global alternatives assets under advisement and approximately US$22 billion in global alternatives assets under management as at June 30, 2020.
