Mercer (consulting firm)
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Consulting |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Founder | William Manson Mercer |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | 130 countries |
| Products | Human resources consulting, financial services consulting |
| Owner | Marsh McLennan |
| Parent | Marsh McLennan |
Mercer is a United States-based consulting firm established in 1945 and functions as one of the four main subsidiaries under the global professional services corporation Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC). With its headquarters located in New York City, Mercer maintains a presence across 130 countries and operates out of 43 offices worldwide. The company focuses on consulting services related to human resources and financial services.
The firm's primary service areas encompass health and benefits, retirement and investment solutions, workforce and career management, as well as advisory services for mergers and acquisitions. Mercer holds the distinction of being the largest investment advisory firm globally, overseeing more than US$300 billion in outsourced assets under management and providing counsel on assets totaling US$16 trillion.
Establishment and Initial Phase (1937–1959)
William Manson Mercer founded William M. Mercer, Limited in Vancouver, Canada, in 1945. This entity was later acquired by Marsh McLennan and incorporated into their employee benefits division in 1959.
Expansion Following Acquisition (1959–2002)
Mercer Consulting Group
In 1975, Marsh McLennan restructured its benefits operations into a fully owned subsidiary named William M. Mercer, Inc. Subsequently, in 1992, a holding company was formed to oversee Marsh McLennan’s three global consulting branches, collectively known as Mercer Consulting Group. William M. Mercer, Inc. delivered actuarial and employee benefits consulting services alongside its sister firms: Mercer Management Consulting and National Economic Research Associates, Inc, which specialized respectively in corporate strategy consulting and economic consulting.
Mercer Delta Consulting
In 2000, Mercer Consulting Group expanded by acquiring Delta Consulting Group, recognized for its expertise in organizational development and change management. Founded by organizational theorist David A. Nadler in 1980, Delta’s clientele included major corporations such as 3M, Citicorp, Procter & Gamble, The New York Times, and Xerox.
Renamed Mercer Delta Consulting, this division focused on leadership development and organizational transformation. The group grew further through acquisitions including Canadian Johnston Smith International, French Change Management Consultants, Spanish c.r.m. Concord, and American CDR International. It also conducted annual surveys targeting Fortune 1000 board members and monitored evolving trends in corporate governance. Mercer Delta promoted the concept of strategically aligned business units connected to broader organizations that could share resources flexibly rather than adhering to conventional hierarchical models.
Mercer Human Resource Consulting Era (2002–2007)
In 2002, William M. Mercer Inc. adopted the new name Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
By 2004, Marsh McLennan had integrated its struggling defined contribution division from Putnam Investments into Mercer and acquired Synhrgy HR Technologies, a Houston-based provider of HR technology solutions and outsourcing services. That year, Mercer came under scrutiny for delivering a compensation report to the NYSE board that contained errors related to former Chairman Richard Grasso’s $139.5 million remuneration package. In response to the controversy and subsequent litigation, Mercer reimbursed $440,000 in fees and supplied critical documents.
In 2005, Marsh McLennan separated Mercer Human Resources Consulting from the broader Mercer Consulting Group and rebranded the remaining five consulting entities as Mercer Specialty Consulting.
Mercer (since 2007)
In 2007, three specialized divisions—Mercer Delta Consulting, Mercer Oliver Wyman, and Mercer Management Consulting—were consolidated into the management consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Along with NERA Economic Consulting and Lippincott, these entities formed the Oliver Wyman Group under the Marsh McLennan umbrella. That same September, Mercer Human Resource Consulting shortened its brand to simply "Mercer." Later in December, Mercer strengthened its presence in Germany by acquiring Höfer Vorsorge-Management, a prominent actuarial and retirement advisory firm.
The following year, Mercer's Italian human capital consulting practice merged with competitor Tesi, resulting in Italy's largest HR consultancy.
Between 2010 and 2011, Mercer pursued growth through several acquisitions: ORC Worldwide, a global workforce management company; Innovative Process Administration LLC, specializing in health benefits technology; Mahoney & Associates, focused on defined contribution plans; and Alicia Smith & Associates, a Medicaid policy consulting firm.
In 2013, Mercer expanded its footprint by purchasing Hall Consulting Limited in British Columbia, which specializes in mining and energy human resources; PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Canadian pension windup administration unit; and Global Remuneration Solutions in South Africa, known for compensation and benefits data services.
The year 2014 saw Mercer enhance its healthcare exchange capabilities by acquiring Transition Assist based in Massachusetts. Additionally, it acquired Jeitosa Group International—a business and technology consulting firm—a 34% equity stake in South African employee benefits company Alexander Forbes, Swiss private markets investment manager SCM, and Chilean compensation consultancy Denarius.
In 2015, Mercer added workforce analytics firm Comptryx from Massachusetts and Asia-centered career consulting provider HRBS to its portfolio. That same year, it divested its US defined contribution administration operations to Transamerica.
Mercer continued its expansion in 2016 by acquiring Pillar Administration from the New South Wales government. Pillar is Australia's fourth-largest superannuation administrator, overseeing more than $100 billion in assets under management.
By 2017, Mercer integrated its investment and retirement advisory services into a newly formed Wealth consulting division. As of December 2019, the firm’s assets under management had exceeded $300 billion.
Following Marsh McLennan’s 2018 acquisition of London-based Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), JLT’s employee benefits segment was merged into Mercer’s operations.
In 2025, Mercer completed the acquisition of O’Brien Wealth Partners, which manages $1.1 billion in client assets—marking Mercer's 104th acquisition since 2016.