Investment advice and family office services and solutions

No two families are the same and each family office faces a unique set of investment challenges, differing goals and timelines. Servicing these needs requires utilizing timely research on investment opportunities and managers, accessing top quality private market investment opportunities, sourcing opportunities to invest, all while keeping up with evolving reporting requirements and maintaining robust governance. 

Central to this is a deep understanding of the complexities around managing family wealth and recognize that you require a high-level of customization and flexibility. Building a more enhanced portfolio structure begins as Mercer works with the family office and each individual family member to understand specific needs and develop customized investment plans that align with specific objectives, risk tolerances, and time horizons. Our advice and family offices services and solutions span a range of asset classes and strategies – including traditional investments such as equity and fixed income, or alternative assets such as private equity and real-estate – and are designed to manage risk-adjusted returns and aim to preserve your capital over time. 

Leveraging Mercer’s global research capabilities and market insights, we can help you identify investment opportunities that may otherwise be unavailable. With a focus on transparency, risk management, and performance monitoring, we strive to deliver exceptional programs that helps you navigate the ever-changing investment landscape and help achieve your financial objectives. 

An anonymized example of how we worked with a single-family office in the US.

This single-family office started with an investment pool of US$2 billion, supporting 3 generations. The family office was responsible for managing a significant asset pool consisting of a foundation, as well as the interests of individual family members. The asset pool was initially funded by a bequest primarily consisting of a single stock position, resulting in a concentrated portfolio. 

As the family moved into its third generation with additional stakeholders, the governance demands of the family office increased significantly. The individual family member investment objectives began to diverge.  In addition, their investment beliefs emphasized concentrated positions,  high conviction, and active management, which further added complexity to the portfolio management process. 

Working with the family office for more than fifteen years, we designed a manager of managers structure, differentiated by asset class, to provide a menu of options for the family and foundation to build a custom diversified portfolio while limiting the number of new managers to monitor. Our approach involved leveraging our capabilities and selecting managers for the family office’s traditional asset class pooled vehicles by reviewing legacy managers and proposing new managers.  

The investment strategy evolved and now includes direct private equity and private real assets. Mercer supported the family office in implementing its new investment strategy with a diverse set of “highly rated” specialist investment managers. We have also supported the foundation’s evolution in governance, the addition of external advisory committee members, and designed a diversified portfolio to complement the concentrated equity position.  

We have developed bespoke reporting elements and model portfolios for the family office to monitor and inform the family members of individualized investment options, investment performance and Mercer’s views on all managers.