Critical thinking

Global sport is fast emerging as a compelling new asset class for institutional investors. In this episode of Critical Thinking , host Teena Jilka speaks with Alastair Seaman, Managing Director at KKR and a member of the Arctos sports investment business, part of KKR solutions, to explore what’s fuelling growing investor interest — and where the opportunities may lie. From North American leagues a...

Managing inherited legacy private market portfolios is increasingly complex as allocations grow across private equity, credit, real estate, and infrastructure. This episode looks at the hidden operational and liquidity burden of these assets and outlines decision frameworks to hold, sell, or restructure, emphasizing proactive planning, strong execution, clear governance, and tailored solutions ali...

In the first episode of CEO Perspectives under our new Marsh brand, Mick Dempsey, President of Investments and Retirement, speaks with Jon Gray, President & COO of Blackstone, about the leadership principles that have shaped one of the world's largest alternative asset managers.  Their conversation explores the evolution of private markets, the growing role of private capital, navigating...

Liquidity has always been a consideration in private markets — but the way investors manage it is changing. In this episode of Critical thinking, Teena Jilka is joined by Mike Forestner and Benjamin Baumann to explore the rise of GP-led secondaries and continuation vehicles. They discuss what is driving the structural growth of the secondaries market, how continuation vehicles work and why alignme...

In this episode of Critical thinking, Eimear Walsh, European Head of Investments, is joined by Michel Meert, European Consulting Leader for Endowments, Foundations and Family Offices, and Michael Curtin, Senior Investment Consultant at Mercer, to explore why the investment committee is often the point where governance becomes real and where investment culture can be most visible.   The conversatio...

In this episode Mercer's US Alternatives Investment Leader Matt Vokes is joined by Neil Blundell, CIO at CAIS Advisors, and Catherine Abely, Private Equity Research Specialist at Mercer, for a discussion on the structural characteristics that distinguish professional sports as an asset class — including franchise scarcity, contracted revenue streams, media rights deals, and the evolving liqui...

In this episode of Critical Thinking , Teena Jilka is joined by David Scopelliti and Karl Heckenberg, President and Managing Partner at Constellation Wealth Capital, to explore how wealth managers are evolving their alternatives playbooks in response to macro shifts, changing client expectations, and the continued retailization of private markets. The conversation looks at how some firms are adapt...

In this episode of Critical Thinking , David Morrow, Global Insurance Proposition Leader at Mercer, is joined by Laurent Rousseau, CEO for EMEA and Global Capital Solutions at Guy Carpenter, and Eryn Bacewich, Head of Insurance Solutions within Mercer’s insurance investment practice, to discuss the evolving role of alternative capital in the reinsurance market. Together, they consider the developm...

Private markets today are being shaped by megatrends such as artificial intelligence, decentralization, and rising concentration across public markets. As traditional diversification comes under pressure, investors are increasingly rethinking liquidity, risk, and opportunity in a more complex environment. In this episode of Critical Thinking, Niall O’Sullivan, Global Chief Investment Officer, is j...

In the fifth episode of Wegwijs na Invaren, Roel Mehlkopf (Cardano) and Marc Heemskerk (Mercer) talk to pensions lawyer and professor, Mark Heemskerk, about an important and topical theme: pensions in court - particularly in relation to the new Dutch pensions system. Together they explore different scenarios and discuss: how realistic lawsuits are related to conversion, who could be held responsib...

Global securitized credit has come a long way since the 2008 financial crisis. In this episode of Critical Thinking , Deborah Wardle speaks with Jean de Kock and Thimal Kollure about how the market has evolved, why it is attracting renewed investor interest, and what it may need to build an effective allocation today. This podcast contains statements on historical performance which may not be repe...

Recorded live at Mercer’s Global Investment Forum in Orlando, in this special edition of the One theme, Two CIOs, Three questions podcast Anne Marie Schultz, US Investments Commercial Leader is joined by US CIO Andrew McDougall and Global Alternatives CIO Garvan McCarthy on the key issues shaping investor decisions today. From geopolitical and energy risk to AI-driven growth, private markets liqui...

In the fourth episode of Wegwijs na Invaren, Roel Mehlkopf (Cardano) and Marc Heemskerk (Mercer) speak with Jeroen Steenvoorden, the Dutch national pension ombudsman, about what he is seeing in practice and what challenges participants face.  Together they discuss common topics and patterns in complaints and the balance between the letter and the intent of pension schemes. They also look ahead to...

In this episode of Wegwijs na Invaren, Roel Mehlkopf and Marc Heemskerk speak with Agnes Joseph about her time in the Dutch Parliament and her involvement in the pension debate. What insights can be drawn from that period, and how does she now view the new pension system? They also look ahead. What does a society in which people are living longer, and may spend 30 years or more in retirement, mean...

In this episode of our Dutch podcast, Wegwijs na Invaren , Roel Mehlkopf, Pension Fund Adviser at Cardano Netherlands, and Marc Heemskerk, Actuarial Consultant at Mercer, talk with Michael Visser from Nationaal Instituut voor Budgetvoorlichting (Nibud) about purchasing power around retirement and the lessons that can be drawn for the transition to the new pension system.  Together, they discuss ho...

In this episode of Critical Thinking, Mercer’s Commercial Leader for UK Investments, Dan Melley, is joined by historian and "The Rest Is History" podcast co-host Dominic Sandbrook to explore what today’s investors can learn from some of history’s most influential financiers. Central to the discussion is the interplay among finance, power, and innovation. Across periods and personalities,...

In this episode of Critical thinking, Byron Evans speaks with Rob Ansari and Bev Sharp about unlocking the value of data with AI. They share real examples – from using internal AI tools to streamline manager research to building capital‑flow forecasting – and the lessons learned on data readiness, governance and change management.  This content is for institutional investors and for information pu...

In this episode of Critical Thinking, Amit Popat is joined by Andreas Vermeiren and Huw van Steenis to explore the rapid rise of asset-backed finance (ABF) and its role in modern portfolios.  The discussion examines the drivers behind ABF’s recent momentum, as banks retrench and institutional investors, particularly insurers, seek long-duration, stable cash flows. It also highlights the growing ro...

In this first episode of our Dutch Podcast Wegwijs na Invaren , Roel Mehlkopf, Pension Fund Advisor, Cardano Netherlands, and Marc Heemskerk, Actuarial Consultant at Mercer, speak with financial journalist Jacob Schoenmaker to explore how the media is covering the Netherlands’ transition to the new pension system. They unpack the narratives that tend to surface in reporting – including the often‑m...

Join host Cori Trautvetter as she sits down with Lisa Laird, CIO of Mercy Investment Services, and Tom Digenan, CIO of Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS), for a frank conversation about the promise - and the misconceptions - of values-aligned investing. Together they cut through the noise to explore whether mission-driven portfolios must sacrifice returns, how AI and rapid structural ch...

In this episode of Critical Thinking, host Kenny Pitman, Senior Director, Alternative Investments, takes a closer look at the evolving private debt landscape with David Scopelliti, Global Head of Private Equity and Private Debt and Scott Wilkinson, Head of Private Debt, APAC. Tackling recent headlines – from AI-driven repricing in the software sector and widening credit spreads to liquidity strain...

As traditional banks step back from short-term lending due to regulatory pressures, a significant gap has opened up in global commerce, and alternative lenders are stepping in. In our latest episode of the Critical Thinking podcast, Deborah Wardle sits down with Gerard Sheehan and Gavin Dredge to unpack why trade finance is becoming one of the fastest-growing areas in private credit. They explore...

In this episode, we join Roman Knipprath, Andreas Vermeiren and Arco van Oord to hear how insurers can strengthen their approach to the Prudent Person Principle (PPP) as regulatory scrutiny increases. From valuation and liquidity to governance, stress testing and data-driven decision-making, the discussion explores practical steps to evidence prudence and build more resilient private market portfo...

In this episode, Anne Marie Schultz, US Investments Commercial Leader, Bernardo Serpa Pimentel, Senior Investment Consultant, and Michel Meert, European Consulting Leader for Endowments, Foundations and Family Offices, explore the idea of a “Return on Resilience.”  Resilience is not just about endurance, it’s about adaptability, the capacity to respond to disruption with speed and confidence. Gove...

Faith-based investing is evolving quickly, driven by advances in data, greater transparency, and more sophisticated portfolio design. Today, some investors are demonstrating their conviction through a range of strategies that seek to align mission with return. In this episode of Critical Thinking , host Michael Lernihan, Global Commercial Leader for Mercer’s Investments and Retirement Business, pr...