Mercer has appointed Tom Austin as a director in its UK covenant advisory team
The new hire is in addition to Kriti Chandnani, Joe Hornsby, Adam D’Souza, Brandy Mukasa and Michael Fenton who all joined in the last year, taking the total size of the team to 15.
Mercer partner and risk transfer and DB journey planning leader Andrew Ward says: “Tom is a great addition to Mercer’s covenant offering bringing a wide range of experience at an exciting time for our business and the covenant sector. Tom will help the team deliver covenant advice to both pension scheme trustees and corporate sponsors across the breadth of our client base and with new opportunities.”
Ward adds: “This is a further step in developing Mercer’s leading role in the covenant advisory market. Understanding covenant is of crucial importance in scheme valuations, in M&A and more recently in situations previously considered as business as usual. Tom’s knowledge and approach will significantly expand our team’s capabilities, and help clients successfully navigate these issues.”
Austen says: “Employer covenant is increasingly at the top of the defined benefit pension’s agenda. With an uncertain macroeconomic outlook and further legislative changes coming in 2023 I look forward to working with Mercer’s excellent team, supporting its clients in navigating these challenges.”
