UK GRADUATES

Meet our people: Nick

Trainee governance & operations consultant - Governance and operations
BA (Hons) economics and finance, University of Exeter

"Because of our entrepreneurial spirit, we strive to exceed our clients’ expectations by acting with speed, simplicity, and decisiveness."

My day to day role is very varied but ultimately focuses around assisting in the smooth running of two large pension funds.

In my first year at Mercer, I’ve been heavily involved in helping to prepare papers for the trustee meetings and committee meetings in areas such as audit and investment. Other tasks include making sure advisor fees are operated within their allocated budget, dealing with individual member cases and drafting and managing the production of a trustee report to members.

The governance and operations unit, as the name suggests, is split into two complementary areas: governance and operations. The operations side is focused on project work, for example helping project manage invitations to tender (this includes writing the tender document and reviewing the responses and offering a recommendation to the client) and providing outsourced pension management. This is the area where I spend most of my time. The governance side is focused more around assisting pension funds to operate in an efficient and well governed manner.

I am studying for the Advanced Diploma in Retirement Provisions with the Pensions Management Institute. This consists of 9 exams in various areas of pensions (for example investment, law and constitution, defined benefit schemes). The exams are bi-yearly and so far I have passed the first exam in pension arrangements.

I find Performance for Success, (PfS) a very helpful tool for providing me with clear career direction and understanding what is expected of me. The feedback gives me areas to improve upon as well as recognising areas of strength.

Learn more about our Retirement, risk & finance consulting business