Critical thinking – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Critical Thinking, Mercer’s U.S. Defined Contribution Leader Holly Verdeyen is joined by Matthew Calloway, Principal, Mercer’s Law and Policy Group, Kelly Henson, Defined Contribution Investment Strategy Leader, and Matt Vokes, Senior Director of Investment Alternatives.

They explore the evolving landscape of private investments within U.S. DC plans, including the impact of the August 7, 2025 executive order and anticipated Department of Labor guidance, recent capital market and product innovation supporting access to these investments within a DC plan framework, and what plan sponsors should consider moving forward.

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract.

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As institutional and retail capital continue to flow into private markets, we believe the infrastructure supporting investment decisions hasn’t fully kept pace. The real challenge isn’t just access to opportunity; it’s access to reliable, data.

In this episode of Critical Thinking, Mercer’s Global Head of Analytics and Portfolio Solutions, Rob Ansari is joined by Chris Sparenberg, Head of Business for iLEVEL at S&P Global, and Jad Stella, Senior Director on the Digital Product Management team at Cambridge Associates, to unpack the current state of private markets data and what could be possible if the industry came together to help deliver more consistent, timely information. 

*References to a "partnership" in the podcast are informal. The relationship described is a "collaboration".

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract. 

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In recent years, the role of private debt has transformed, with the potential for higher returns and greater portfolio diversification seeing the asset class become a more frequent feature in institutional portfolios. Now, the way that investors are accessing private debt has changed too. Semi-liquid fund structures have emerged, with asset managers seeking to address the traditional barriers to entry for wealth managers and other non-institutional investors, potentially offering greater flexibility in accessing the asset class. 

In this episode, Nick Rosenblatt, Wealth Management Proposition Leader at Mercer, is joined by Alecia DeCuollo and Tamsin Coleman to examine the driving forces behind private debt’s growth as an asset class in recent years, the advent of semi-liquid structures and their ripple effect through the industry, as well as the risk and due diligence considerations when evaluating semi-liquid, private credit funds.

This podcast contains statements on historical performance which may not be repeated in the future. Please note that returns on investments are not guaranteed.

This content is for institutional investors and for information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial situation. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of the recording, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

This does not constitute an offer or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities, commodities and/or any other financial instruments or products or constitute a solicitation on behalf of any of the investment managers, their affiliates. For the avoidance of doubt, this is not formal investment advice to allow any party to transact. Additional advice will be required in advance of entering into any contract. 

There are substantial risks associated with investments classified as alternative investments. Investors should have the ability, investing sophistication and experience to bear the risks associated with such investments.

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Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

Why is water, essential to life on earth, not more central to investors’ decision making?

In this episode dedicated to Earth Day, Mark Longbottom is joined by Helga Birgden and John Elmore-Jones to discuss their latest research into the importance of water, as a critical resource, when considering investments. They explore why investment into protecting water as core to people and the environment needs an urgent reset, and they outline what approaches investors can take to address the risks of overlooking the importance of investing in our planet.

Mercer has recently been working in partnership with the Valuing Water Initiative, CDP and the Water Footprint Network on a project to increase water-related transparency and awareness among financial institutions.

This content is for institutional investors and information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.

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Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

The Russia – Ukraine conflict continues to cause uncertainty for investors. Energy prices and Inflation continues to rise globally and the conversation has turned from transitory inflation to the possibility of stagflation.

Listen to Erin Lefkowitz and Rupert Watson as they discuss their outlook for interest rates, inflation and markets more broadly and the possible implications for portfolios.

This content is for institutional investors and information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.
 
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Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

The escalating conflict in Ukraine has resulted in far-reaching outcomes for financial markets and the global economy. Rich Nuzum, President of Investments & Retirement, Mercer, and Jo Holden, Global Head of Investment Research, discuss the conflict’s short and long-term implications for the real economy and for investment portfolios, what does this mean for energy prices, inflation and interest rates. They also provide a warm up session to our fast-approaching annual Mercer Global Investment Forum Europe on 28-29 March, and share sneak peaks of the key topics that will be covered. They explain how they find their own ideas for innovation, and the importance for investment professionals to gather as a community for shaping the global investments map. Moderated by Annabell Mathiesen-Siem, Mercer Norway CEO.

This content is for institutional investors and information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.
 
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Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

Bitcoin and Gold are often compared to one another with Bitcoin having even been referred to as “digital gold”. In this episode, Nick White, Matt Scott and our special guest Urs Bolt, discuss the similarities, differences, and obstacles Bitcoin faces to make it mainstream amongst institutional investors.

Guest speaker: Urs Bolt
Urs has 30 plus years’ experience in the financial services industry, mainly in wealth management, investment banking and banking technology business. His core expertise is to develop and roll out new digital business platforms. 
Urs’ current focus is helping FinTech and WealthTech companies and financial service providers review/refocus business strategies.
Urs is co-initiator of the Swiss Open Wealth Association with the goal to accelerate the development of new ecosystems in wealth management and private banking. Beside that he actively contributes to the progress of the Swiss and global ecosystem in crypto finance as an opinion leader and a passionate lecturer in ecosystems in crypto finance in post-graduate courses.

This content is for institutional investors and information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.
 
  Read our full important notices - click here

Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.
 

The Russia – Ukraine conflict is causing a lot of uncertainty for investors and is an evolving situation. The implications from the conflict and subsequent sanctions from global leaders are far reaching and yet to be fully understood. 

Join Susan McDermott, US Strategic Research Director and Rupert Watson, Head of Asset Allocation, as they discuss the potential impact on inflation, energy prices, trade and markets more broadly.
 

This content is for institutional investors and information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.
 
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Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.
 
Carbon emissions have understandably been a key focus for attention to avoid or diminish the climate crisis. However, a wider lens is needed to sustainably service the food, water, housing, labor and transport needs of almost eight billion people. Biodiversity, adequate freshwater supplies and topsoil management are needed for food security; minerals for electric vehicles; and energy from sources such as nuclear and gas, given the intermittency of renewables. Put simply, a resource transition is needed, not simply an energy transition!  

To discuss, Nick White Global Strategic Research Director, Mercer is joined by our guest speakers from Impax Asset management. Chris Dodwell, Head of Policy and Advocacy, with over 25 years’ public and private sector experience in climate change, sustainable energy and environmental policy and regulation and David Li , Senior Portfolio Manager who co-manages both the Asian Environmental Markets Strategy and Asian Opportunities Strategy.
 
 This content is for institutional investors and information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser. Impax is a Manager rated by Mercer.  Impax has not been paid by or received any compensation from Mercer for participating in this podcast. Please see Mercer’s conflict of interest disclosure link in the Important Notices for additional information.
 
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Opinions expressed are those of the speakers as of the date of publication, are subject to change without notice and do not necessarily reflect Mercer’s opinions.

Advisors and their clients need to be adaptable to the challenges that lie ahead. Mercer has identified five areas for financial intermediaries to consider – areas we believe are critical for long-term success.

 Read the  full paper here
Take our 2022 global wealth management survey here

This content is for institutional investors and information purposes only. It does not contain investment, financial, legal, tax or any other advice and should not be relied upon for this purpose. The materials are not tailored to your particular personal and/or financial position. If you require advice based on your specific circumstances, you should contact a professional adviser.
 
 Read our full important notices - click here