Mercer Global Advisors Review

Pros and Cons of Mercer Global Advisors

Types of Clients

Mercer Global Advisors serves both non-wealthy and wealthy individuals, as well as institutional clients. This includes charitable organizations, pension and profit-sharing plans, and miscellaneous corporations. A significant majority of its clients, about 96%, are individual retail investors, however.

Keep in mind that Mercer Advisors may require you to have a minimum amount of investable assets before enrolling in certain services. Besides its wealth management services, which begin at $250,000, the firm doesn’t list specific thresholds for individual services on its website or brochure documents. Therefore, you’ll need to consult with the company on what account requirements you may need to meet before becoming a client.

Financial Advisor Services

Mercer Global Advisors offers an assortment of advisory services that touch on a variety of financial aspects. This includes managing your portfolio and the investments within, financial planning, estate planning, tax planning and management, and more.

Below is a full description of the company’s services:

Financial Planning

Mercer offers financial planning tailored toward a holistic view of your finances. This involves the opportunity to meet with a professional who will learn about your goals and construct a plan to help you accomplish them. This service may come along with the investment advisory program described in the next section, or it may be standalone.

Specifically, it can help you with the following areas:

• General financial and wealth planning
• Investment management
• Retirement planning
• Estate planning
• Tax planning
• Divorce planning
• Insurance planning
• Education planning
• Putting together a budget

Per the company’s website, you’ll work with an advisor who holds the high-quality Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. Individuals who hold this title must uphold a fiduciary duty and always prioritize your best interest as a client. They’ve also received thousands of hours of education and on-the-job experience.

Investment Advisory

Mercer Advisors provides both discretionary and, in certain cases, non-discretionary investment advisory. Upon meeting with your professional at the firm and providing them with various details about you, such as your risk tolerance, time horizon, and desires, you’ll receive recommendations about the ideal asset allocation for your portfolio.

As mentioned above, the company primarily offers investment management on a discretionary basis. Therefore, in this relationship, your advisor acts as an agent who will have unrestricted ability to make trades and implement your strategy on your behalf.

Mercer Global Advisors provides nine investment programs. Though they vary in terms of scope and types of securities, they often include assets such as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and index funds. Also, they each tend to have a unique function or purpose.

Below is a list of the programs:

• Market Series
• Multifactor Series
• Income Series
• SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) Impact Series
• Separately Managed Account (SMA)
• Unified Managed Account (UMA)
• Variable Annuities
• Schwab Institutional Intelligent Portfolios (automated investing program)
• Private Investments

Wealth Management Programs

Mercer Advisors extends its services either individually or as part of a complete wealth management package. With the latter, you’ll receive expertise centered around nearly every facet of your finances with exposure to more than one professional. It offers two all-in-one bundles:

• Wealth Path is for clients with at least $250,000 in investable assets. It allows you to receive tailored financial advice and investment management with access to a team of professionals with different areas of focus, as well as a dedicated advisor.
• Ascend Group is a similar service directed toward high- or ultra-net-worth clients. It includes a range of services, such as tax optimization, estate planning, charitable giving, private banking, nuanced investment management with a focus on alternatives, and more.

Fee Structure

Mercer Global Advisors uses an asset-based fee structure, where you’ll pay a percentage of the dollar amount of your monthly assets under management (AUM). Therefore, your fees may vary depending on your portfolio value. The company also highlights that rates could be different for each program and that final amounts are negotiable.

The company doesn’t list specific fees for its individual services; however, it mentions that it requires minimum annual payments. This breaks down as:

• $800 for Guided Investing
• $4,000 for Wealth Path
• $10,000 for family office services and estate planning
• $75,000 for Ascend Group (high-net-worth clients)

Mercer Global Advisors uses a tiered structure for its wealth management services. That is, the percentage of your AUM the company takes decreases as your portfolio grows.

The table below shows the fees for the company’s Wealth Path service:

AUM Value	Percentage
First $1 million	1.30%
Next $1 million	1.00%
Over $2 million	0.90%

The following table shows the fee structure for family office services, the Guided Investing program, and Ascend Group:

AUM Value	Percentage
First $1 million	1.10%
Next $1 million	1.00%
Next $3 million	0.90%
Next $5 million	0.75%
Over $10 million	0.50%

Investment Philosophy

Mercer Global Advisors explains its investment philosophy in detail within its client-facing Form ADV Part 2A brochure. Specifically, the company says that it aims to construct diversified client portfolios with exposure to a variety of asset classes while using established industry standards and practices backed by sound theory.

If you work with Mercer in an investment management capacity, the exact types of assets you’ll have in your portfolio may vary on your needs as a client, as well as what program your advisor recommends. In each of its investment programs, the firm may use a combination of ETFs, mutual funds, index funds, private equity, and other options. You may also receive an allocation with a specified intent, such as ESG (environment, social, and corporate governance) investing or global diversification.

Disclosures

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. has been registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as an investment advisor since 2008. To uphold this status, it must report all disciplinary or regulatory actions it’s received on its official government documents as public record. As of this review’s writing, the company has no disclosures listed on its most recent Form ADV.

Customer Service and Opening an Account

To reach Mercer Global Advisors’ customer service, you can navigate to the company’s “Contact Us” page on its website, which allows you to fill out a short form and send a message. You could also call (888) 920-1320.

If you’re interested in becoming a client, the company provides a “Find an Advisor” page. Once there, like the contact form, you can fill out some basic information about yourself and your needs and send it to the firm. Another effective method is using the “Find a Location” page and searching for the direct contact information of a Mercer branch near you.

Tips for Choosing a Financial Advisor Firm

Picking the right financial advisor is an important and difficult decision. It’s key to find a firm or individual that suits your needs, both in the services they offer and philosophically. For this reason, it’s usually a smart idea to compare a handful of professionals to find the right fit.

Aside from the services an advisor offers, you should also pay close attention to its account minimums and fee structure. Many firms require you to have a certain level of investable assets to open an account. If you’re a beginner, this may limit your options. Additionally, a firm’s fees are often based on a percentage of AUM, which can be expensive.

As mentioned, it’s a good idea to compare your options to find the best financial advisor for your needs. To kick off your search, we recommend you use a free matching tool. After providing some information about your finances, it’ll present you with up to three vetted fiduciary options in your area.

Methodology

This review is based on publicly available information directly from Mercer Global Advisors’ website and the SEC. Neither the firm nor its representatives have any say on what we’ve included on this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Mercer Global Advisors a fiduciary?

Because it’s registered with the SEC as an investment advisor, Mercer Global Advisors must carry out a fiduciary standard both company-wide and at the individual advisor level. Therefore, it must do its best to minimize conflicts of interest and maintain a strong level of transparency with clients.

Is Mercer Global Advisors good?

Mercer Global Advisors is a well-ranked advisory firm that offers a range of services to both average-net-worth individuals and those with incredible portfolio sizes. Especially notable among its accolades, though, is its position in the top ten of Barron’s Top 100 RIA Firms list.

What is the minimum amount for Mercer Advisors?

Minimums at Mercer can vary significantly by the type of service you require, but they aren’t readily available to the public. However, for its Wealth Path service, which brings together many of its offerings, you’ll need at least $250,000 AUM.