Marsh McLennan’s Mercer Acquires $35B SECOR Asset Management

Mercer, a financial services and consulting firm under the Marsh McLennan umbrella, has inked a deal to buy SECOR Asset Management L.P., an investment consulting firm catering to pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, and family offices.

Founded in 2010 by Tony Kao, Ray Iwanowski and partners, SECOR managed $21.5 billion in assets and advised on another $13.8 billion as of late September 2024. The firm offers investment strategy, tactical asset allocation, manager selection, portfolio monitoring and implementation services for asset owners.

Upon completion of the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, SECOR’s team of over 40 professionals from New York and London will join Mercer. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“SECOR’s exceptional team is highly regarded in the industry for their extensive experience working with in-house investment teams and proven expertise in specialized investment implementation,” said Michael Dempsey, Mercer’s wealth president.

The deal is a classic play in the ongoing consolidation wave in financial services, where scale and specialization are increasingly the name of the game.