Mercer saw strong growth in its delegated investment solutions in 2012. The company's global assets under management increased nearly 32 percent to nearly $70 billion at the end of the year, up from $53 billion in 2011. In the United States, Mercer's delegated assets grew by $7 billion in 2012.

Several factors enabled Mercer to achieve substantial growth in 2012. These included the challenge of underfunded DB pension plans – at year-end 2012 the S&P 1500 DB pension plans sponsors reported their highest year-end pension deficit ever – and the quest for return that is driving many endowment and foundation clients as they struggle to meet spending commitments. Market events increasingly require quick and professional investment decisions, according to Mercer.

"In a market affected by a low interest rate environment, uncertainty in the Euro Zone, volatility in the equity markets, and disparate returns in alternatives, many institutions are realizing that they need an investment partner who can quickly adjust their portfolio to market changes while adhering to best practices in investment governance," said Tom Murphy, Mercer's head of fiduciary management in the United States. "Clients have been attracted to Mercer because our delegated solutions allow them to leverage our global investment research and portfolio implementation to complement their in-house staff and investment committee structures."