Mercer (consulting firm)
Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Consulting |
Founded | 1945 |
Headquarters | |
Number of locations | 180 cities in 43 countries |
Key people | Martine Ferland (President and CEO) |
Products | Asset management, including retirement, health & benefits, human capital, surveys & products, communication, investments, outsourcing, and mergers & acquisitions |
Revenue | 5,021,000,000 United States dollar (2019) |
Number of employees | 25,000 (2019) |
Parent | Marsh McLennan |
Mercer is an American consulting firm founded in 1945. It is one of the four operating subsidiaries of global professional services firm Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC). Mercer is headquartered in New York City with offices in 43 countries and operations in 130 countries.[1] The company primarily provides human resources and financial services consulting services to its clients.
Mercer has several distinct lines of business, namely: health and benefits, investments and retirement, workforce and careers, and M&A advisory services. It is the world's largest investment advisory with over US$300 billion outsourced assets under management and US$16 trillion under advisement in total.[2][3][4][5][6]
History
[edit]Foundation and early years (1937–1959)
[edit]William Manson Mercer founded William M. Mercer, Limited in Vancouver, Canada in 1945. It was acquired by Marsh McLennan and merged into their employee benefits department in 1959.[7][8]
Post acquisition growth (1959–2002)
[edit]Mercer Consulting Group
In 1975, Marsh McLennan converted their benefits operations into a wholly owned subsidiary, William M. Mercer, Inc. In 1992, a holding company was created for Marsh McLennan's three global consulting businesses, known as Mercer Consulting Group.[9] William M. Mercer, Inc. continued to provide actuarial and employee benefits consulting within the group alongside two sister companies: Mercer Management Consulting and National Economic Research Associates, Inc, which provided corporate strategy consulting and economic consulting, respectively.[10]
Mercer Delta Consulting
[edit]In 2000, Mercer Consulting Group acquired Delta Consulting Group for its organizational development and change management expertise.[11] Founded by organizational theorist David A. Nadler in 1980, Delta Consulting Group worked to structure effective executive teams.[12][13] The firm had an influential client list, including corporations such as 3M, Citicorp, Procter & Gamble, The New York Times, and Xerox.[14][15]
The new entity was renamed Mercer Delta Consulting, and maintained its specialty in leadership and organizational change.[16][17] The group grew through further acquisitions of Canadian Johnston Smith International, French Change Management Consultants, Spanish c.r.m. Concord, and American CDR International.[18] They surveyed directors of the Fortune 1000 annually and monitored developments in business governance.[19] In contrast to the traditional organizational structure where business units within an organization are clearly defined, Mercer Delta was a proponent of strategically aligned business units that were linked to a larger organization with which they could share capabilities when needed, and operate separately from when they were not.[20]
Mercer Human Resource Consulting (2002–2007)
[edit]In 2002, William M. Mercer Inc. changed its name to Mercer Human Resource Consulting.[21]
In 2004, Marsh McLennan folded its troubled Putnam Investments defined contribution business into its Mercer line and acquired Houston, Texas–based Synhrgy HR Technologies, a human resources technology and outsourcing services company.[1] Also in 2004, Mercer admitted giving the NYSE board a compensation report that contained "omissions and inaccuracies" that led to a $139.5 million pay package for former NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso. Mercer had been brought in to advise the stock exchange on Grasso's 2003 contract and his request for $139.5 million. The consultancy returned $440,000 in fees it collected from the NYSE and provided key documents in the lawsuit.[22]
In 2005, Marsh McLennan split Mercer Human Resources Consulting from Mercer Consulting Group. The five consultancies which remained in the group were renamed Mercer Specialty Consulting.[23]
Mercer (since 2007)
[edit]In 2007, three of the five speciality consulting units – Mercer Delta Consulting, Mercer Oliver Wyman and Mercer Management Consulting – were merged into management consultancy Oliver Wyman.[24] Oliver Wyman, along with the two remaining speciality units (NERA Economic Consulting and Lippincott) became a separate subsidiary of Marsh McLennan known collectively as Oliver Wyman Group.[25]
In September, the Mercer Human Resource Consulting became simply "Mercer".[26] In December, Mercer acquired Höfer Vorsorge-Management, a German actuarial and retirement consulting firm. At the time, the acquisition reportedly gave Mercer the top market position in Germany.[27]
In 2008, Mercer's Italian human capital consulting business merged with Tesi, an Italian competitor. The combined business, Mercer Tesi was noted at the time to be the largest HR consultancy in Italy.[28]
In 2010, Mercer acquired ORC Worldwide, an expert in international work assignments.[29] Also in 2010, Mercer acquired Brecksville, Ohio–based Innovative Process Administration LLC (IPA), a health benefits and technology provider.
In 2011, Mercer acquired Fort Lauderdale, Florida–based Mahoney & Associates, a defined contribution plan provider.[30] Also in 2011, Mercer acquired Alicia Smith & Associates, a Washington DC–based Medicaid policy consulting firm.[31]
In 2013, Mercer acquired British Columbia–based Hall Consulting Limited (HCL), an HR consultant and salary surveyor focusing on the mining and energy business.[32] Also in 2013, Mercer acquired PricewaterhouseCoopers' pension windup (termination) administration business in Canada,[33] and Global Remuneration Solutions (GRS), a South African compensation and benefits survey data and rewards information provider.[34]
In 2014, Mercer acquired Norwell, Massachusetts–based Transition Assist, a private health care exchange specializing in coverage for Medicare-eligible retirees.[35] Also in 2014, Mercer acquired Jeitosa Group International, a business and technology consultancy,[36] and a 34% stake in South Africa–based employee benefits specialist Alexander Forbes.[37] Later that year, Mercer acquired Swiss private markets manager and consultant SCM,[38] and Denarius, a Santiago, Chile-based consulting firm focused on compensation and benefits survey and information products.[39]
In 2015, Mercer made two acquisitions. It acquired Hopkinton, Massachusetts–based Comptryx, a workforce metrics company offering surveying, modeling and analytics services,[40] and also acquired HRBS, a provider of career and talent consulting and information services to clients across Asia, particularly Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China.[41] In that same year, Mercer sold its US defined contribution administration business to Transamerica.[42]
In 2016, Mercer acquired Pillar Administration, Australia from the New South Wales State Government. Pillar was Australia's fourth largest superannuation administration provider, with more than $100 billion in funds under administration across 1.1 million member accounts.[43]
In 2017, Mercer combined its investment and retirement consulting practices into a new Wealth consulting division.[44] In December 2019, Mercer's investment assets under management reached above $300 billion.[45]
After Marsh McLennan's 2018 purchase of London-based Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), operating in employee benefits and other financial services, the JLT business was integrated into Mercer.[46][47]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "About". Mercer. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
- ^ "Mercer company profile".
- ^ "Mercer Global Assets Under Management Reaches OCIO Industry Milestone by Passing $300 billion USD". Nasdaq. December 17, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- ^ "Marsh & Mclennan Companie ... (MMC) 10-K". Edgar Online. February 21, 2019. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ "Mercer Ranked First in OCIO Assets Globally by Ai CIO Magazine". Mercer News Room. March 18, 2019. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ "2019 Outsourced-Chief Investment Officer Survey". AI-CIO. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ^ "Acing the Mercer Interview – An Overview of the Firm". managementconsulted.com. April 8, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "America's Top Management Consulting Companies". The HR Digest. May 5, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "Company Profile: Mercer". Actuary Jobs.
- ^ "Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. History". Funding Universe.
- ^ Woolsey, Christine (March 25, 2000). "Mercer Consulting Group Plans Acquisition of Delta Consulting". HR Hub. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- ^ Nadler, David A. (January 1, 1996). "Managing the Team at the Top". strategy+business.
- ^ America, North (June 8, 1999). "Building Leadership Through Teamwork". Knowledge@Wharton.
- ^ Nadler, David (April 23, 1989). "Business Forum: Making Corporations Smarter; Failures Can Be Productive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022.
- ^ Pearlstein, Steven (June 29, 1998). "REINVENTING XEROX CORP". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.
- ^ Schneyer, Fred (January 26, 2005). "Storms to Run Mercer HR Consulting in MMC Reorg". PLANSPONSOR.
- ^ Woolsey, Christine (March 24, 2000). "Mercer Consulting Group Plans Acquisition of Delta Consulting". HR Hub.
- ^ "A History Of Forward Thinking". Oliver Wyman.
- ^ "Directors Exert More Influence in Boardroom". University of Southern California News. April 4, 2005. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023.
- ^ "Partners in wealth". The Economist. January 21, 2006. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023.
- ^ Geisel, Jerry (April 5, 2002). "Mercer to adopt new name". Business Insurance. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
- ^ "HR Figures Prominently in Stock Exchange Scandal". hr.blr.com. May 26, 2004. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "MMC Announces Organizational Changes at Mercer". Marsh & McLennan Investor News.
- ^ "Mercer units combine to form new consultancy". Business Insurance. May 9, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2020.(subscription required)
- ^ "Marsh & McLennan Companies Annual Report".
- ^ "Mercer HR Consulting rebrands as Mercer". professionalpensions.com. September 12, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer acquires Höfer Vorsorge-Management in Germany". news.top-consultant.com. December 19, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer & Tesi deal creates Italian market leader". growthbusiness.co.uk. October 16, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer acquires ORC Worldwide to strengthen its capabilities in global workforce management". hrmagazine.co.uk. June 24, 2010. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer buys Mahoney & Associates' practices". southfloridabusinessjournal.com. July 20, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer acquires Alicia Smith & Associates in D.C." Washington Business Journal. November 16, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer acquires Hall Consulting". growthbusiness.co.uk. October 16, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer to buy PwC's Canadian pension windup business". businessinsurance.com. August 8, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer in deal for Global Remuneration Solutions". mindbench.com. September 3, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer expands health care exchange offerings with acquisition". businessinsurance.com. March 3, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer Acquires Jeitosa Group International". workforce.com. October 27, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer to buy Alexander Forbes stake". bdlive.co.za. June 24, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer acquires Swiss private markets manager/consultant". Pensions & Investments Online. June 24, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
- ^ "Marsh & McLennan Unit Mercer Buys Denarius". rttnews.com. December 15, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
- ^ "Mercer acquires Comptryx, specialist in HR metrics".
- ^ "Marsh & McLennan Arm to Offer Career Consulting in Asia".
- ^ "Transamerica to buy Mercer's defined contribution administration business". Business Insurance. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ "Mercer acquires Pillar Administration". Investment Magazine. December 2, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- ^ Comtois, James (March 20, 2017). "Mercer combines units to meet clients' shifting need". Pensions & Investments. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
- ^ "Mercer Global Assets Under Management Reaches OCIO Industry Milestone by Passing $300 billion USD". www.mercer.com. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ Burton, Lucy (September 18, 2018). "Bumper payouts and job cuts on the cards as US giant Marsh snaps up JLT for £4.9bn". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
- ^ "Marsh & McLennan Welcomes Jardine Lloyd Thompson". Mercer. Retrieved January 26, 2020.