US asset management and consultancy firm Mercer has announced the appointment of a head of Asia Pacific manager research.

Mercer appoints Simon Coxeter as head of APAC manager research, according to a statement. In the newly created role, Coxeter is responsible for overseeing manager research needs across local markets in the region. 

Coxeter was most recently Mercer’s strategic research director for Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), which includes a team of over 30 manager and strategic researchers across eight markets, and the firm has namedJean de Kock as the successor for the role. De Kock joined Mercer in 2012 and is currently part of its fixed income boutique and supports regional consulting teams in Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China. He will continue to carry out manager research tasks alongside the new responsibilities in strategic research. 

«The complexities, nuances and dependencies that factor into every investment decision have grown exponentially over the past three years,» said Fiona Dunsire, Mercer’s wealth leader – AMEA. «A high level of rigor and specialization in research is required to identify investment opportunities with the most attractive return and deliver the best investment outcomes to clients.»

Within Asia, Mercer currently houses more than 160 investment professionals across the region.