Mercer overhauls executive team: Hires new CIO

Mercer has welcomed two former BT Super executives to the firm's Pacific leadership team following the merger of BT Super into the Mercer Super Trust and the acquisition of Advance Asset Management.

Corrin Collocott joins as chief investment officer of the $63 billion Mercer Super and will also play a deputy CIO role across Mercer in the Pacific.

He will oversee the performance of the Mercer Super investment options and other Mercer diversified funds and provide broad leadership to the Pacific investment management team.

Reporting to Mercer Pacific investment chief Kylie Willment, Collocott will also help to ensure a smooth transition of the Advance Asset Management funds into the Mercer investment framework.

Collocott joined BT Investment Solutions in November 2015 and was appointed chief investment officer in September 2017.

The incoming investment head is responsible for the leadership of the BT Investment Solutions investment team and the investment management of all investment products and strategies spanning across investment, super, SMA, model portfolios and bespoke strategies.

Earlier, he managed investment strategies at Sunsuper as well as the Queensland fund's multi-asset portfolios.

Collocott has also held senior roles in Russell Investment Group, lnTech, MCA NZ Limited, and Watson Wyatt.

Meanwhile, Andrew Wallace will lead the retention, growth and development of Mercer Super's personal super offering and member experience.

Reporting to Mercer Super chief executive Tim Barber, Wallace leads the team accountable for enhancing the end-to-end experience of the fund's 850,000 members.

Wallace has held several roles across personal and corporate superannuation and risk and governance.

Before the two years at BT running superannuation, he spent seven years at Perpetual, most recently as acting operating chief.

This role followed an earlier two-year stint at BT as head of risk platforms and operations.

Mercer Pacific president David Bryant -  also chief executive of Marsh McLennan Pacific - said the make up of Mercer's Pacific executive team -  including Wallace and Collocott's appointments - was an important step towards bringing to life a bigger and better offering for Mercer Super members.

"The aim of the merger has always been about bringing the best of our organisations together to deliver better retirement outcomes for our members," he added.

"Andrew and Corrin have a great deal of experience across the industry and importantly, a shared purpose to make a difference in people's lives.

Bryant said the appointments are an important milestone for the super fund.

"I'm confident it has the right leadership team to take us forward for the benefit of our members, our clients and our people."

About 350 existing BT Super and BT Investment Solutions employees joined Mercer.

"Combining our expertise is just the beginning of a very exciting journey. I'm confident that the merger is a game-changer for Mercer and the industry more broadly, as we set a new bar for retirement outcomes for Australians," he said.

The Mercer Super Trust now has 850,000 members and $63 billion in assets under management.