Mercer appoints Steve Sands as its UK Financial Planning Leader
Steve Sands has been appointed as the new UK Financial Planning Leader of global consultancy Mercer. Sands brings a quarter-century of experience to the role, having most recently been a Director with Standard Life Aberdeen.
In 2016, following Marsh & McLennan Companies’ acquisition of financial planning firm Jelf Group, global consultancy Mercer launched the Mercer Jelf Financial Planning brand. Bringing together the financial planning teams of the two firms into a combined proposition was done to increase Mercer’s ability to provide financial advice to companies and their employees.
Following this, Marsh & McLennan Companies sealed a £4.3 billion takeover of UK insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) in September 2018. The move saw Marsh & McLennan retain JLT's existing commitments to its defined benefit schemes, including planned deficit recovery contributions and contractually required contributions. The resulting merger of Mercer and JLT’s Employee Benefits division forged the largest pensions consulting business in the UK by turnover.
Now, as Mercer seeks to incorporate JLT’s financial planning wing to Mercer Jelf, Mercer has announced the appointment of Steve Sands as leader of its UK Financial Planning Business. Sands will now be responsible for leading the continued integration of the JLT and Mercer Jelf into a single business, and oversee a 200-strong team that includes 50 financial planners. He will report to Benoit Hudon, Mercer’s UK Wealth Leader.
Hudon commented, “Financial planning can be a complicated and time consuming process, so having trustworthy expert advice is key. We are pleased to have Steve join us, as we feel that his passion and comprehensive knowledge of the market will ultimately help our clients best address their financial issues and goals.”
Sands brings over 25 years of experience in the financial planning industry to his new role, with particular expertise in wealth management and platform technology. Most recently, he was the UK Director of Platform Distribution and Workplace Relationships at Standard Life Aberdeen. Prior to this role, he also worked as a Development Director for Threesixty Services, following an initial two-year spell with Standard Life as Head of UK Platform Relationships.
Speaking on his appointment, Sands said, “I am delighted to take on this role at Mercer at such an exciting time. In an ever more complex world of pensions and investment, we are well positioned to help our clients navigate their financial challenges. With a technology enabled process, we aim to help them meet their long-term objectives and ultimately give them piece of mind.”