As part of Mercer’s Institutional Wealth team, new head of investment consulting Michael Armitage will lead Mercer’s investment consulting activities in Australia.

With a career spanning three decades, Armitage has strong experience in investment strategy research, portfolio management, institutional investment and asset management product development across the US, UK, Hong Kong and Australia.

Simon Eagleton, Mercer’s institutional wealth leader, Pacific, said Armitage’s appointment strengthened the investment consulting service for clients, and enabled Mercer to proactively grow its consulting business.

"As one of very few truly global investment consulting firms, we have the scale and subject matter specialisation to help drive investment success for our clients. With someone of Michael’s expertise leading the team, we can find more ways to bring these value-adding investment ideas to our clients,” Eagleton said.

Armitage said Mercer’s specialist skill-set served its clients well during a time of increasing complexity and challenges. “Mercer’s broad set of strong capabilities across areas such as investment manager research, alternative investments, responsible investing, investment operations consulting and actuarial services put our clients ahead of the game, enabling more efficient outcomes for members and institutions. I look forward to helping our clients navigate their way through a growing set of complex demands with the support of a highly capable team."

He was formerly with Milliman.