For those clients seeking access to the analytics the platform provides, Mercer will use PFaroe to support their consulting work across all disciplines of defined benefit pensions to provide a holistic and cohesive solution.

Mercer has signed an agreement with RiskFirst to offer the risk management platform PFaroe® to clients and pension schemes. PFaroe is a powerful web-based platform allowing defined benefit (DB) pension schemes direct access to a broad range of analytics for the purpose of evaluating the risks affecting their schemes and performing real-time scenario stress testing. For those clients seeking access to the analytics the platform provides, Mercer will use PFaroe to support their consulting work across all disciplines of defined benefit pensions – retirement planning, investment consulting and fiduciary management – to provide a holistic and cohesive solution.

Alan Baker, Partner and UK Head of DB Risk at Mercer, comments:

“In the face of ongoing volatility and other pressures, companies and trustees are looking for innovative ways to manage their pension scheme liabilities. Mercer has always tried to be ahead of the curve in meeting those needs through innovative solutions such as Mercer’s Pension Risk Exchange or SmartDB. While we continue to invest in our own tools and innovations, this more formal relationship with RiskFirst provides a very valuable alternative for those clients looking to make use of PFaroe. We believe we are the first major global employee benefit consultancy to make use of RiskFirst’s market-leading platform in this way and we are already working with a number of clients to implement the product.”

Matthew Seymour, CEO, RiskFirst, says:

“Innovation is deeply seeded within Mercer’s ethos, and here they are demonstrating that by not “reinventing the wheel”, but rather by adapting and developing new operating practices to meet the needs of their clients.”

Seymour adds:

“This is a significant advance for a number of pension plans who have wanted to use PFaroe, but have been keen to work with one of the ’Big 3’ benefit consultants to provide the advice and direction they want. They can now have both and I am confident that PFaroe will be a valuable addition to Mercer’s existing risk management tool kit.”