Mercer has appointed former PwC co-lead Nikhil Patel as a senior principal in the risk transfer team.
Patel joins from PwC where he co-led the pension risk transfer team, advising trustee and corporate clients on buy-in, buy-out and longevity swap transactions as well as end game journey planning. Patel has worked on and led several landmark projects in recent years including full scheme buy-outs and buy-ins ranging in size from less than £10m to over £4bn.
Patel will advise clients on how to most effectively manage their pension risk, either through bulk annuity, member option exercises, longevity swap, or other alternatives. Based in London, Patel will report to Andrew Ward, partner and risk transfer and DB journey planning leader.
Ward says “Nikhil is a great addition to Mercer’s risk transfer offering and he joins at an exciting time for our business. Nikhil’s experience advising trustees and sponsors on pensions strategy as well as pension risk transfer boosts Mercer’s capabilities in this growth area of the market.
“With improving funding levels, regulatory change and a greater range of solutions available to secure liabilities almost all defined benefit schemes are considering their end games and will require experienced advisors to assess the range of solutions available. As a firm, we are agnostic on the solution used as long as it is right for our client, and we are determined to be the leading adviser to support trustees and sponsoring employers through this.”
