Mercer - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Mercer is Medium Risk.

Mercer is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Mercer occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	High Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Mercer is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment, incorporating ESG issues into investment analysis, decision-making, and other business practices (1)(2). Mercer integrates ESG into its business practices. From its Marsh McLennan 2023 ESG report: “we will continue to engage our suppliers in our sustainability efforts plan to calculate our Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services” (3). Otherwise, Mercer has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (4)(5).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Mercer does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. The company’s charitable giving focus areas are social justice and disaster relief (1)(2).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Mercer appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its leadership composition. From its 2023 ESG report: “Our talent planning process allows us to keep a pulse on our leadership talent environment, including… the diversity of backgrounds… in our leadership pipeline.” The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its hiring. From its 2023 ESG report: “We partner with several organizations to support inclusive hiring at all levels, from early career through experienced talent” (1). Mercer requires its employees to take unconscious bias and allyship training. Mercer does not publish a nondiscrimination policy (2)(3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Mercer supports DEI within its business practices hosting the Dive In Festival, an insurance DEI event, every year since 2015. In 2023, Mercer hosted the “Equity = Possibility Black Leaders Symposium”. Mercer joined the Out and Equal Summit, the largest workplace inclusion event in the world focused on LGBTQ equality. Mercer is committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 (1). Mercer supports DEI within its business practices, employing a Race Advisory Council (2). Mercer has written multiple articles encouraging companies to prioritize DEI as a fundamental business component and investment strategy (3)(4). The company supports ESG within its business practices. From its Marsh McLennan 2023 ESG report: “Our Board ESG Committee oversees and supports the company’s commitment to social, environmental and other public policy initiatives” (5). Mercer is a member of the Institutional Investing Diversity Cooperative which promotes diversity in institutional asset managers (6)(7).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Mercer provides a Social Justice Double Match program which matches employee donations that give to a social justice cause to 200%. It donated “$2,890,000 for 145 organizations advocating racial equity” (1). Mercer is a partner of Out and Equal, an LGBTQ equity and advocacy group (2)(3). Mercer is a partner of myGwork, a global business community of LGBTQ professionals (4)(5). In 2020, Mercer allocated $5 million to organizations advocating for Black equity (6). Otherwise, Mercer has not used corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (7).