Nikhil Patel joins Mercer as Senior Principal in risk transfer

Professional services firm Mercer has appointed Nikhil Patel as a Senior Principal in its risk transfer team. Mercer Partner Andrew Ward commented that the new arrival was “a great addition to Mercer’s risk transfer offering” at an “exciting time” for the business.”

Ward continued, “Nikhil’s experience advising trustees and sponsors on pensions strategy as well as pension risk transfer boosts Mercer’s capabilities in this growth area of the market.”

Based in London, Nikhil Patel will report to Mercer partner and risk transfer and defined benefit journey planning leader Ward. The role will see him advise clients on how to most effectively manage their pension risk, either through bulk annuity, member option exercises, longevity swap, or other alternatives.

With improving funding levels, regulatory change and a greater range of solutions available to secure liabilities, the majority of defined benefit schemes are considering their end games. This will see demand for Mercer spike, as the potential changes will require experienced advisors to assess the range of solutions available.

Patel’s expertise will be important to meeting these client needs. He has worked on and led several landmark projects in recent years including full scheme buyouts and buy-ins ranging in size from less than £10 million to over £4 billion. Prior to arriving at Mercer, Patel worked with Big Four firm PwC, where he co-led its pension risk transfer team, advising trustee and corporate clients on buy-in, buyout and longevity swap transactions as well as endgame journey planning.

Pension funding rallied at the start of the year, after months of uncertainty around the Omicron variant had previously grown the pension deficit of the FTSE350. According to research from Mercer, however, the coming year may be far from straight forward – something that may also contribute to demand for pension consultants.