Mercer Advisors: Platform Profile

Overview

Mercer Advisors is a brand used by several affiliated legal entities.

The primary registered investment adviser for ordinary client wealth-management services is:

Mercer Global Advisors Inc.

Current IAPD information identifies:

• Investment adviser: Mercer Global Advisors Inc.
• CRD: 147363
• SEC number: 801-69271
• Parent: Mercer Advisors, Inc.

The parent is not the investment-service entity.

Mercer's current consumer proposition is closer to an integrated family-office model than a basic robo account.

Services can include:

• financial planning;
• investment management;
• tax planning and tax preparation;
• estate planning;
• insurance services;
• trustee services;
• retirement planning;
• private-market strategies;
• specialized planning for business owners, executives and complex households.

The central fee issue is the minimum annual fee.

For current Custom Wealth, the published percentage tiers begin at 1.10%, but the service also has a:

• Custom Wealth minimum annual fee: $15,000

That minimum can override the percentage calculation.

May fit better for

• households seeking integrated investment, tax and estate planning;
• clients who want most advisory accounts managed discretionarily;
• investors with sufficient assets to absorb a $15,000 minimum annual Custom Wealth fee;
• high-net-worth households;
• clients who value in-house or affiliated specialist services;
• eligible investors considering private funds or other specialty investments;
• clients seeking a national firm with local adviser teams.

May fit less well for

• smaller households using Custom Wealth;
• investors seeking a low-cost robo account;
• clients who want to approve every trade;
• investors who want no affiliated product or insurance conflicts;
• households that need only basic asset allocation;
• users who read the 1.10% first tier but ignore the $15,000 minimum;
• investors who want all tax and legal services included automatically in one advisory fee.

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Mercer Global Advisors Inc. is the adviser

Current SEC records:

• Legal adviser: Mercer Global Advisors Inc.
• CRD: 147363
• SEC number: 801-69271

Current Mercer materials explicitly state that:

Mercer Advisors, Inc. is the parent company and is not involved with investment services.

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Mercer has multiple service levels

Current 2026 brochure distinguishes service lanes including:

• Guided Investing;
• Wealth Path;
• Custom Wealth;
• Ascend Group;
• ultra-high-net-worth/Regis services for qualifying relationships.

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Current Custom Wealth percentage tiers

Current 2026 disclosure for Custom Wealth states:

• Custom Wealth:
• First 1m: 1.10%
• Next 1m: 1.00%
• Next 3m: 0.90%
• Next 5m: 0.75%
• Over 10m: 0.50%
• Minimum annual fee: $15,000

The percentage tiers are progressive.

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The $15,000 minimum materially changes smaller-account economics

At $1 million, the percentage calculation is:

$1,000,000 × 1.10% = $11,000

But the current minimum annual fee is:

$15,000

Effective advisory fee:

$15,000 ÷ $1,000,000 = 1.50%

That is the practical current fee at $1 million if the minimum applies.

Mercer charges 1.10% on a $1 million Custom Wealth relationship

without acknowledging the minimum annual fee.

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Custom Wealth fee math above the minimum

$2 million

First $1 million:

$1,000,000 × 1.10% = $11,000

Next $1 million:

$1,000,000 × 1.00% = $10,000

Total:

$21,000/year

Average:

1.05%

The $15,000 minimum no longer overrides the percentage total.

$5 million

First $1 million:

$11,000

Next $1 million:

$10,000

Next $3 million:

$3,000,000 × 0.90% = $27,000

Total:

$48,000/year

Average:

0.96%

$10 million

First $5 million:

$48,000

Next $5 million:

$5,000,000 × 0.75% = $37,500

Total:

$85,500/year

Average:

0.855%

These examples exclude third-party investment costs and other separate services.

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Guided Investing has a lower minimum fee

Current 2026 brochure states:

• Guided Investing first 1m rate: starts at 1.10%
• Guided Investing minimum annual fee: $1,200
• Financial planning included: No

Guided Investing is an investment-management-only service lane.

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Wealth Path has a different schedule

Current 2026 brochure describes Wealth Path:

• Wealth Path:
• First 1m: 1.30%
• Next 1m: 1.00%
• Minimum annual fee: $6,000

This is another reason the review must not publish one universal “Mercer fee.”

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Ascend has a much higher minimum annual fee

Current Ascend schedule uses the same percentage tiers as Custom Wealth:

• 1.10%;
• 1.00%;
• 0.90%;
• 0.75%;
• 0.50%.

But the minimum annual fee is:

• Ascend minimum annual fee: $75,000

It is service-level pricing.

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Mercer generally manages accounts discretionarily

Current Form CRS states:

• Discretionary management general: Yes
• Limited non discretionary accounts: Yes

Mercer generally does not need to call the client before buying or selling in a discretionary account.

A limited number of accounts remain non-discretionary.

Every Mercer account is discretionary.

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The broader service model includes affiliated entities

Current Mercer footer disclosures identify:

• Private asset management affiliate: Mercer Advisors Private Asset Management, Inc.
• Tax affiliate: Mercer Advisors Tax Services LLC
• Broker dealer affiliate: Heim, Young and Associates, Inc. (MA Brokerage Solutions)
• Insurance affiliate: Mercer Advisors Insurance Services LLC

The private-asset-management affiliate is itself an SEC-registered investment adviser providing discretionary management to affiliated private funds.

The broker-dealer is separate from the ordinary RIA relationship.

The insurance agency is separate from investment advisory services.

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Affiliated products create conflicts

Current Form CRS states that affiliated services can economically benefit Mercer affiliates and its parent.

A client is not required to purchase affiliated products or services.

That distinction matters.

A conflict is not the same as a mandatory product.

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Brokerage commissions can exist in a separate capacity

Mercer states that a limited number of financial professionals are separately registered with an affiliated broker-dealer.

When acting in that brokerage capacity, they can earn commissions.

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Private funds can add additional fees and liquidity limits

Current Form CRS states that Mercer can recommend strategies with additional costs, including:

• separately managed accounts;
• sub-advisers;
• margin;
• private funds.

Private funds can impose:

• eligibility tests;
• management fees;
• incentive allocations;
• limited redemption rights;
• long holding periods.

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Mercer uses third-party custodians

Current Form CRS refers to broker-dealer custodians and notes that custodian fees are separate from Mercer's advisory fee.

Mercer also participates in referral programs with some custodians.

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Current regulatory AUM and public asset claims need separate labels

Current July 2026 SEC-derived regulatory data shows approximately:

• Regulatory AUM: $84.4 billion
• Regulatory AUM source date: 2026-07-31

Mercer's public marketing has also referenced more than $100 billion in assets entrusted to the broader organization.

These can use different definitions.

Assessment

Mercer's service depth is the reason to consider it.

A household can obtain investment management alongside tax, estate, insurance and trust services within a coordinated organization.

The current fee structure makes the fit much more dependent on service level than a headline percentage suggests.

For Custom Wealth, the $15,000 annual minimum is decisive near the lower end.

At $1 million, it produces a 1.50% effective advisory charge even though the nominal first-tier rate is 1.10%.

That changes the comparison materially.

At larger balances the progressive schedule becomes more competitive as a percentage of assets.

The right comparison is therefore:

actual service lane + minimum annual fee + progressive AUM charge + outside investment costs

rather than “Mercer starts at 1.10%.”