Mercer and CAIS Redefine Alternative Investment Advice and Access for Wealth Management

NEW YORK, March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercer, the global leader in financial advice, products, and services and CAIS, the leading independent exchange for in-demand financial products servicing the global wealth management industry, announced the expansion of their existing strategic relationship by making Mercer's suite of institutional investment advice, research, products, and tools available through CAIS.  Mercer will continue to provide due diligence and ongoing monitoring for all funds that list on CAIS.

In the increasingly competitive landscape of wealth management, Mercer and CAIS are committed to empowering advisors with the advice and access they need to effectively implement alternative investment solutions.  Mercer will provide CAIS Member Firms thematic portfolio construction guidance, analytic tools, model portfolios, fund and industry research, and ongoing educational resources and support. Additionally, CAIS and Mercer will host a series of alternative investment focused advisor educational sessions globally in 2013.

"With their longstanding commitment to servicing the wealth management industry and over 150 research professionals globally, Mercer's research-driven approach brings advisors a distinct advantage in identifying unique managers and trends across all strategies and regions," said Matthew Brown, CAIS Co-Founder and CEO.  "This collaboration offers advisors a complete solution, combining industry leading institutional advice with streamlined access and execution."

Mercer has provided investment advice and research to some of the largest and most sophisticated global institutions.  Mercer currently advises over $6 trillion in assets and actively rates over 7,800 investment strategies.  These strategies include long/short equity, multi-strategy, global macro, credit/distressed, merger arbitrage, CTA, relative value, commodities, and event driven across established and emerging markets, in addition to traditional investments.

"CAIS has rapidly become the industry's preferred independent marketplace for alternative investments and we are pleased to bring our deep institutional resources and intellectual capital to CAIS," said Cara Williams, Global Head of Wealth Management at Mercer.  "We believe the Mercer-CAIS combined solution will benefit our existing and prospective wealth management clients both in the US and internationally."

About Mercer

Mercer is a global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement and investments. Mercer helps clients around the world advance the health, wealth and performance of their most vital asset – their people. Mercer's 19,000 employees are based in more than 40 countries. Mercer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC), a global team of professional services companies offering clients advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy and human capital. With 53,000 employees worldwide and annual revenue exceeding $11 billion, Marsh & McLennan Companies is also the parent company of Marsh, a global leader in insurance broking and risk management; Guy Carpenter, a global leader in providing risk and reinsurance intermediary services; and Oliver Wyman, a global leader in management consulting. For more information, visit www.mercer.com.  Follow Mercer on Twitter @MercerInsights

About CAIS

CAIS is the leading independent exchange for in-demand financial products servicing the global wealth management industry. CAIS offers advisors streamlined access, information, and execution to an expanding menu of hedge funds, private equity funds, precious metals, and structured products.  CAIS complements its centralized multi-product offering with a robust suite of portfolio construction tools, fund analytics, and third-party due diligence reports provided by Mercer.

CAIS maintains an unwavering commitment to delivering institutional functionality and reliability.  Mercer and State Street further this commitment by bringing global scale and oversight to the exchange.  CAIS avoids key conflicts of interest by not engaging in wealth management activities or managing proprietary funds or products.  The firm's neutrality allows CAIS to provide an unbiased and transparent investment marketplace to the global wealth management industry.

CAIS is an NFA member with securities offered through CAIS Capital LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.

For more information about CAIS visit www.caisgroup.com

SOURCE CAIS