Item 1. BUSINESS.
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Item 1. BUSINESS.
References in this report to "we", "us" and "our" are to Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries (the "Company"), unless the context otherwise requires.
GENERAL
The Company is a global professional services firm offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy and people. Its businesses include: Marsh, the insurance broker, intermediary and risk advisor; Guy Carpenter, the risk and reinsurance specialist; Mercer, the provider of HR and investment related advice and services; and Oliver Wyman Group, the management, economic and brand consultancy. With over 65,000 colleagues worldwide and annual revenue of $15 billion, the Company provides analysis, advice and transactional capabilities to clients in more than 130 countries.
The Company conducts business through two segments:
| • | Risk and Insurance Services includes risk management activities (risk advice, risk transfer and risk control and mitigation solutions) as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services. The Company conducts business in this segment through Marsh and Guy Carpenter. |
| • | Consulting includes health, wealth and career services and products, and specialized management, economic and brand consulting services. The Company conducts business in this segment through Mercer and Oliver Wyman Group. |
We describe our current segments in further detail below. We provide financial information about our segments in our consolidated financial statements included under Part II, Item 8 of this report.
OUR BUSINESSES
RISK AND INSURANCE SERVICES
The Risk and Insurance Services segment generated approximately 55% of the Company's total revenue in 2018 and employs approximately 36,000 colleagues worldwide. The Company conducts business in this segment through Marsh and Guy Carpenter.
MARSH
Marsh is a global leader in delivering risk advisory and insurance solutions to companies, institutions and individuals around the world. From its founding in 1871 to the present day, Marsh has demonstrated a commitment to thought leadership, innovation and insurance expertise to meet its clients’ needs. Marsh’s pioneering contributions include introducing the practice of client representation through brokerage, the discipline of risk management, the globalization of risk management services and the development of service platforms that identify, quantify, mitigate and transfer risk.
Currently, approximately 34,000 Marsh colleagues provide risk management, insurance broking, insurance program management services, risk consulting, analytical modeling and alternative risk financing services to a wide range of businesses, government entities, professional service organizations and individuals in more than 130 countries. Marsh generated approximately 46% of the Company's total revenue in 2018.
Insurance Broking and Risk Consulting
In its core insurance broking and risk advisory business, Marsh employs a team approach to identify, quantify and address clients' risk management and insurance needs. Marsh’s product and service offerings include risk analysis, insurance program design and placement, insurance program support and administration, claims support and advocacy, alternative risk strategies and a wide array of risk analysis and risk management consulting services. Clients benefit from Marsh’s advanced analytics, deep technical expertise, collaborative global culture and the ability to develop innovative solutions and products. The firm’s resources also include more than thirty five risk, specialty and industry practices, including cyber, financial and professional service practices, along with a growing employee health & benefits business.
Marsh provides services to clients of all sizes, including large multinational companies, high growth middle-market businesses, small commercial enterprises and high net-worth private clients. Marsh segments clients to ensure that their needs are effectively addressed through tailored value propositions, which aim to provide solutions that best mitigate and manage their risk exposures.
Risk Management. Marsh has an extensive global footprint and market-leading advisory and placement services that benefit large domestic and international companies and institutions facing complex risk exposures. These clients are also supported by Marsh’s robust analytics and a growing digital experience.
In addition, Marsh’s largest multinational clients are serviced by a dedicated team of colleagues from around the world focused on delivering service excellence and insurance solutions to clients wherever they are located. Marsh provides global expertise and an intimate knowledge of local markets, helping clients navigate local regulatory environments to address the worldwide risk issues that confront them.
Corporate. A fast-growing segment, middle market and corporate clients are served by Marsh’s brokerage operations globally and constitute a substantial majority of clients served by Marsh & McLennan Agency (MMA) in the United States, Jelf in the United Kingdom and large portions of Marsh’s international business.
| • | MMA offers a broad range of commercial property and casualty products and services, as well as solutions for employee health and benefits, retirement and administration needs and a growing personal lines business in the United States and Canada. Since its first acquisition in 2009, MMA has acquired 70 agencies. MMA provides advice on insurance program structure and market dynamics, along with industry expertise and transactional capability. |
| • | Jelf (acquired in December 2015) and Bluefin (acquired in December 2016 and largely integrated into Jelf) service more than 250,000 clients, primarily in the small to mid-market segment across the United Kingdom, and offer high quality technical advice, bespoke products and distinctive services including claims consultancy, employee health and benefit, personal lines solutions and risk management. As a result of these acquisitions, Marsh is now a leading SME (small and medium enterprise) broker in the United Kingdom. |
Commercial & Consumer. Clients in this market segment typically face less complex risks and are served by Marsh’s innovative product and placement offerings and growing capabilities in digitally enabled distribution.
| • | Victor Insurance Holdings is one of the largest underwriting managers of professional liability and specialty insurance programs worldwide. In the United States, Victor O. Schinnerer & Co. and ICAT Managers offer risk management and insurance solutions to over 125,000 insureds through a national third-party distribution network of licensed brokers. ENCON Group Inc., a leading managing general agent in Canada with over 43,000 insureds, offers professional liability and construction insurance, as well as group and retiree benefits programs and claims handling for individuals, professionals, organizations and businesses. Victor has a growing business in the UK (where it was formerly known as Bluefin Underwriting) and Europe, where new businesses have been launched in the Netherlands, Italy and Germany. |
| • | Dovetail Insurance is a leading provider of cloud-based insurance services and transaction processing tailored to the U.S. small commercial market. Dovetail deploys an advanced cloud-based technology platform that enables independent insurance agents, on behalf of their small business clients, to obtain online quotes from multiple insurance providers and bind property and casualty and workers compensation insurance policies in real time. |
High Net Worth (HNW). Individual high net worth clients are serviced by Marsh USA's Private Client Services (PCS), MMA and other personal lines businesses globally. These businesses provide a single-source solution for high net worth clients and are dedicated to sourcing protections across a broad spectrum of risk. Using a consultative approach, PCS analyzes exposures and customizes programs to cover clients with complex asset portfolios.
Additional Services and Adjacent Businesses
In addition to insurance broking, Marsh provides certain other specialist advisory or placement services:
Marsh Risk Consulting (MRC) is a global practice comprising specialists that advise clients on identifying exposures, use data and analytics to assess critical business activities and evaluate existing risk practices and strategies. MRC provides client services in four main areas: Property Consulting; Casualty Consulting; Strategic Risk and Cybersecurity Consulting; and Financial Advisory Services.
Marsh Data, Digital and Analytics provides technology solutions to enhance the insurance process and data and analytical tools to better understand risks, make more informed decisions and support the implementation of innovative solutions and strategies. Among the suite of solutions deployed by this team are: Bluestream, a digital broker that enables clients to provide insurance to their customers or suppliers in a B2B2C affinity model; Blockchain solutions, where Marsh is working in conjunction with industry consortia and IBM to digitally verify insurance; and the Marsh Analytical Platform - Marsh’s proprietary suite of analytics applications that delivers risk insights to clients for better decision making concerning retaining, mitigating, transferring risk and financing risk.
Marsh Captive Solutions serves more than 1,200 captive facilities, including single-parent captives, reinsurance pools and risk retention groups. The Captive Solutions practice operates in 51 captive domiciles and leverages the consulting expertise within Marsh’s brokerage offices worldwide. The practice includes the Captive Advisory Group, a consulting arm that performs captive feasibility studies and helps to structure and implement captive solutions; the Captive Management Group, an industry leader in managing captive facilities and in providing administrative, consultative and insurance-related services; and the Actuarial Services Group, which is comprised of credentialed actuaries and supporting actuarial analysts.
Torrent Technologies is a service provider to Write Your Own (WYO) insurers participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in the United States. It offers a comprehensive suite of flood insurance products and services to WYO carriers and agents. In addition, Torrent serves as the Direct Servicing Agent of the NFIP.
Bowring Marsh is an international placement broker primarily for property and casualty risks. Bowring Marsh uses placement expertise in major international insurance market hubs, including Bermuda, Brazil, China, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Spain, United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, Japan and Switzerland, and an integrated global network to secure advantageous terms and conditions for its clients throughout the world.
Services for Insurers
Insurer Consulting Group provides services to insurance carriers. Through Marsh's patented electronic platform, MarketConnect, and sophisticated data analysis, Marsh provides insurers with individualized preference setting and risk identification capabilities, as well as detailed performance data and metrics. Insurer consulting teams review performance metrics and preferences with insurers and provide customized consulting services to insurers designed to improve business planning and strategy implementation. Marsh's Insurer Consulting services are designed to improve the product offerings available to clients, assist insurers in identifying new opportunities and enhance insurers’ operational efficiency. The scope and nature of the services vary by insurer and by geography.
GUY CARPENTER
Guy Carpenter, the Company’s reinsurance intermediary and advisor, generated approximately 9% of the Company's total revenue in 2018. The workforce consists of approximately 2,400 colleagues who provide clients with a combination of specialized reinsurance broking expertise, strategic advisory services and analytics solutions. Guy Carpenter creates and executes reinsurance and risk management solutions for clients worldwide through risk assessment analytics, actuarial services, highly-specialized product knowledge and trading relationships with reinsurance markets. Client services also include contract and claims management and fiduciary accounting.
Acting as a broker or intermediary on all classes of reinsurance, Guy Carpenter places two main types of property casualty and life / health reinsurance: treaty reinsurance, which involves the transfer of a portfolio of risks; and facultative reinsurance, which involves the transfer of part or all of the coverage provided by a single insurance policy.
Guy Carpenter provides reinsurance services in a broad range of centers of excellence and segments, including: Automobile / Motor, Aviation, Crop/Agriculture, Cyber, D&O/Non-Medical Professional, Engineering / Construction, Environmental, GL & Umbrella, Health, Life, Marine and Energy, Medical Professional, Mortgage, Political Risk & Trade Credit, Program Manager Solutions, Property, Public Sector, Retrocessional Reinsurance, Surety, Terror, and Workers Compensation / Employer Liability.
Guy Carpenter also offers clients alternatives to traditional reinsurance, including industry loss warranties and, through its licensed affiliates, capital markets alternatives such as transferring catastrophe risk through the issuance of risk-linked securities. GC Securities, the Guy Carpenter division of MMC Securities LLC and MMC Securities (Europe) Limited, offers corporate finance solutions, including mergers & acquisitions and private debt and equity capital raising, and capital markets-based risk transfer solutions that complement Guy Carpenter's strong industry relationships, analytical capabilities and reinsurance expertise.
Guy Carpenter also provides its clients with reinsurance-related services, including actuarial, enterprise risk management, financial and regulatory consulting, portfolio analysis and advice on the efficient use of capital. Guy Carpenter's Global Strategic Advisory ("GSA") unit helps clients better understand and quantify the uncertainties inherent in their businesses. Working in close partnership with Guy Carpenter account executives, GSA specialists help support clients' critical decisions in numerous areas, including reinsurance utilization, catastrophe exposure portfolio management, new product and market development, rating agency, regulatory and account impacts, loss reserve risk, capital adequacy and return on capital.
Compensation for Services in Risk and Insurance Services
Marsh and Guy Carpenter are compensated for brokerage and consulting services through commissions and fees. Commission rates and fees vary in amount and can depend on a number of factors, including the type of insurance or reinsurance coverage provided, the particular insurer or reinsurer selected, and the capacity in which the broker acts and negotiates with clients. In addition to compensation from its clients, Marsh also receives other compensation, separate from retail fees and commissions, from insurance companies. This other compensation includes, among other things, payments for consulting and analytics services provided to insurers; compensation for administrative and other services (including fees for services provided to or on behalf of insurers relating to the administration and management of quota shares, panels and other facilities in which insurers participate); and contingent commissions, which are paid by insurers based on factors such as volume or profitability of Marsh's placements, primarily driven by MMA and parts of Marsh's international operations.
Marsh and Guy Carpenter receive interest income on certain funds (such as premiums and claims proceeds) held in a fiduciary capacity for others. For a more detailed discussion of revenue sources and factors affecting revenue in our Risk and Insurance Services segment, see Part II, Item 7 ("Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations") of this report.
CONSULTING
The Company's Consulting segment generated approximately 45% of the Company's total revenue in 2018 and employs approximately 28,000 colleagues worldwide. The Company conducts business in this segment through Mercer and Oliver Wyman Group.
MERCER
Mercer delivers advice and digital solutions that help organizations meet the health, wealth and career needs of a changing workforce. Mercer has more than 23,000 colleagues based in 43 countries. Clients include a majority of the companies in the Fortune 1000 and FTSE 100, as well as medium- and small-market organizations. Mercer generated approximately 32% of the Company's total revenue in 2018.
Mercer operates in the following areas:
Health. Mercer assists public and private sector employers in the design and management of employee health care programs; administration of health benefits and flexible benefits programs, including benefits outsourcing; employee engagement with their health benefits through a digital experience; compliance with local benefits-related regulations; and the establishment of health and welfare benefits coverage for employees. Mercer provides a range of advice and solutions to clients, which, depending on the engagement, may include: total health and wellness management strategies; global health brokerage solutions; vendor performance and audit; life and disability management; and measurement of healthcare provider performance. These services are provided through traditional fee-based consulting as well as commission-based brokerage services in connection with the selection of insurance companies and healthcare providers. Mercer also provides solutions for private active and retiree exchanges in the United States, including its Mercer Marketplace 365SM and Mercer 365+SM offerings, as well as tools to enhance employee engagement with their health benefits through its DarwinSM platform across the world.
Wealth. Mercer assists clients worldwide in the design, governance and risk management of defined benefit, defined contribution and hybrid retirement plans. Mercer provides retirement plan outsourcing, including administration and delivery of defined benefit and defined contribution retirement benefits. Mercer also provides investment advice and related services to the sponsors and trustees of pension plans, master trusts, foundations, endowments, and insurance companies as well as wealth management and other financial intermediary firms.
The Wealth business is comprised of two practices: Defined Benefit Consulting & Administration (DBA) and Investment Management & Related Services (IMS).
DBA includes mature businesses primarily in defined benefit and actuarial consulting, defined benefit investment consulting and defined benefit plan administration. Through DBA, Mercer provides a range of retirement-related services and solutions to corporate, trustees, governmental and institutional clients. Through IMS, Mercer provides primarily investment consulting and investment management (also referred to as “delegated solutions” or “fiduciary management”) services defined contribution-related consulting and investment and administration services, and financial wellness. Mercer's services cover all stages of the investment process, from strategy, asset allocation and implementation to ongoing portfolio management services. Mercer provides these services primarily to institutional and other sophisticated investors including retirement plans (defined benefit and defined contribution), master trusts, endowments and foundations and wealth managers and other financial intermediary firms, primarily through manager of manager funds sponsored and managed by Mercer. Mercer also provides services to individual investors, including financial planning and other discretionary investment services. As of December 31, 2018, Mercer and its global affiliates had assets under delegated management of approximately $241 billion worldwide. Mercer’s financial wellness advice and services are designed to promote the financial wellbeing of employees.
Career. Mercer's Career businesses advise organizations on the engagement, management and reward of employees; the design of executive remuneration programs; people strategies during business transformation, improvement of human resource (HR) effectiveness; and the implementation of digital and cloud-based Human Resource Information Systems through Mercer Career Digital. In addition, through proprietary survey data and decision support tools, Mercer's Career Products business provides clients with human capital information and analytical capabilities to improve strategic human capital decision making. Mercer's Communications business helps clients plan and implement HR programs and other
organizational changes designed to maximize employee engagement, drive desired employee behaviors and achieve improvements in business performance.
OLIVER WYMAN GROUP
With more than 5,000 professionals and offices in 30 countries, Oliver Wyman Group delivers advisory services to clients through three operating units, each of which is a leader in its field: Oliver Wyman, Lippincott and NERA Economic Consulting. Oliver Wyman Group generated approximately 14% of the Company's total revenue in 2018.
Oliver Wyman is a leading global management consulting firm. Oliver Wyman's consultants specialize by industry and functional area, allowing clients to benefit from both deep sector knowledge and specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management and organization transformation. Industry groups include:
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Automotive
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Aviation, Aerospace & Defense
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Business Services
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Communications, Media & Technology
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Distribution & Wholesale
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Education
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Energy
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Financial Services (including corporate and institutional banking, insurance, wealth and asset
management, public policy, and retail and business banking)
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Health & Life Sciences
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Industrial Products
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Public Sector
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Retail & Consumer Products
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Surface Transportation
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Travel & Leisure
Oliver Wyman overlays its industry knowledge with expertise in the following functional specializations:
| • | Actuarial. Oliver Wyman offers actuarial consulting services to public and private enterprises, self-insured group organizations, insurance companies, government entities, insurance regulatory agencies and other organizations. |
| • | Corporate Finance & Restructuring. Oliver Wyman provides an array of capabilities to support investment decision making by private equity funds, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, investment banks, commercial banks, arrangers, strategic investors and insurers. |
| • | Digital. Oliver Wyman has a dedicated cross-industry team helping clients capitalize on the opportunities created by digital technology and addressing the strategic threats. |
| • | OW Labs. OW Labs applies innovative approaches to technology to drive business impact for its clients. The mission of OW Labs is to help clients to unleash the power of the information they already have or could capture - essentially to become knowledge-powered businesses - and through that to drive competitive advantage and sustained impact. |
| • | Operations. Oliver Wyman offers market-leading IT organization design, IT economics management, Lean Six Sigma principles and methodologies, and sourcing expertise to clients across a broad range of industries. |
| • | Organizational Effectiveness. Our Organizational Effectiveness capability brings together deep functional expertise and industry knowledge to enable the whole organization to work in service of its strategic vision and to address the most pressing organizational, people, and change issues. |
| • | Payments. Oliver Wyman draws on years of industry-shaping work in the Financial Services and Retail industries, deep digital expertise, and renowned research partners at Celent, to help clients - from banks/issuers, to payments providers, to retailers - to build growth strategies, form effective partnerships, optimize costs, and manage risk. |
| • | Pricing, Sales, and Marketing. We help organizations drive top-line and margin growth through outstanding strategy and decision making on pricing, marketing optimization, and best practices on sales effectiveness. |
| • | Risk Management. Oliver Wyman works with chief financial officers, chief risk officers, and other senior finance and risk management executives of corporations and financial institutions on risk management solutions. Oliver Wyman provides effective, customized solutions to the challenges presented by the evolving roles, needs and priorities of these individuals and organizations. |
| • | Strategy. Oliver Wyman is a leading provider of corporate strategy advice and solutions in the areas of growth strategy and corporate portfolio; non-organic growth and M&A; performance improvement; business design and innovation; corporate center and shared services; and strategic planning. |
| • | Sustainability Center. The Sustainability Center at Oliver Wyman supports leading companies and governments around the world in their efforts to foster economic growth while encouraging more responsible use of natural resources and environmental protection. |
Lippincott is a brand strategy and design consulting firm that advises corporations around the world in a variety of industries on corporate branding, identity and image. Lippincott has helped create some of the world's most recognized brands.
NERA Economic Consulting provides economic analysis and advice to public and private entities to achieve practical solutions to highly complex business and legal issues arising from competition, regulation, public policy, strategy, finance and litigation. NERA professionals operate worldwide assisting clients including corporations, governments, law firms, regulatory agencies, trade associations, and international agencies. NERA's specialized practice areas include: antitrust; securities; complex commercial litigation; energy; environmental economics; network industries; intellectual property; product liability and mass torts; and transfer pricing.
Compensation for Services in Consulting
Mercer and the Oliver Wyman Group of businesses are compensated for advice and services primarily through fees paid by clients. Mercer's Health business is also compensated through commissions for the placement of insurance contracts (comprising more than half of the revenue in the Health business). Mercer's Delegated Solutions business and certain of Mercer's administration services are compensated typically through fees based on assets under administration or management. For a majority of the Mercer-managed investment funds, revenue received from Mercer's investment management clients as sub-advisor fees is reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP, on a gross basis rather than a net basis. For a more detailed discussion of revenue sources and factors affecting revenue in the Consulting segment, see Part II, Item 7 ("Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations") of this report.
REGULATION
The Company's activities are subject to licensing requirements and extensive regulation under U.S. federal and state laws, as well as laws of other countries in which the Company's subsidiaries operate. See Part I, Item 1A ("Risk Factors") below for a discussion of how actions by regulatory authorities or changes in legislation and regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate may have an adverse effect on our businesses.
Risk and Insurance Services. While laws and regulations vary from location to location, every state of the United States and most foreign jurisdictions require insurance market intermediaries and related service providers (such as insurance brokers, agents and consultants, reinsurance brokers and managing general agents) to hold an individual or company license from a government agency or self-regulatory organization. Some jurisdictions issue licenses only to individual residents or locally-owned business entities; in those instances, if the Company has no licensed subsidiary, it may maintain arrangements with residents or business entities licensed to act in such jurisdiction. Such arrangements are subject to an internal review and approval process. Licensing of reinsurance intermediaries is generally less rigorous compared to that of insurance brokers, and most jurisdictions require only corporate reinsurance intermediary licenses.
In 2005, the Insurance Mediation Directive which, as from October 1, 2018 has been superseded by the Insurance Distribution Directive, was adopted by the United Kingdom and 26 other European Union Member States. Its implementation gave powers to the Financial Services Authority ("FSA"), the United
Kingdom regulator at the time, to expand their responsibilities in line with the Financial Services and Markets Act (2000), the result of which was the regulation of insurance and reinsurance intermediaries. The enhanced regulatory regime implemented in the United Kingdom created a licensing system based on an assessment of factors which included professional competence, financial capacity and the requirement to hold professional indemnity insurance. In April 2013, the FSA was superseded by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"). In April 2014, the FCA’s responsibilities were expanded further to include the regulation of credit activities for consumers. This included the broking of premium finance to consumers who wished to spread the cost of their insurance. In April 2015, the FCA obtained concurrent competition powers enabling it to enforce prohibitions on anti-competitive behavior in relation to financial services.
Insurance authorities in the United States and certain other jurisdictions in which the Company's subsidiaries do business, including the FCA in the United Kingdom, also have enacted laws and regulations governing the investment of funds, such as premiums and claims proceeds, held in a fiduciary capacity for others. These laws and regulations typically provide for segregation of these fiduciary funds and limit the types of investments that may be made with them, and generally apply to both the insurance and reinsurance business.
Certain of the Company's Risk and Insurance Services activities are governed by other regulatory bodies, such as investment, securities and futures licensing authorities. In the United States, Marsh and Guy Carpenter use the services of MMC Securities LLC, a SEC registered broker-dealer in the United States, investment adviser and introducing broker. MMC Securities LLC is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"), the National Futures Association and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation ("SIPC"), primarily in connection with capital markets and other investment banking-related services relating to insurance-linked and alternative risk financing transactions. Also in the United States, Marsh uses the services of MMA Securities LLC, a SEC registered broker-dealer, investment adviser and member of FINRA and SIPC and JSL Securities, Inc., a SEC registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA, SIPC and the municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, primarily in connection with retirement, executive compensation and benefits consulting and advisory services to qualified and non-qualified benefits plans, companies and executives. In the United Kingdom, Marsh and Guy Carpenter use the expertise of MMC Securities (Europe) Limited, which is authorized and regulated by the FCA to provide advice on securities and investments, including mergers & acquisitions in the European Union. MMC Securities LLC, MMC Securities (Europe) Limited, MMA Securities LLC and JSL Securities, Inc. are indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.
Consulting. Mercer's retirement-related consulting and investment services are subject to pension law and financial regulation in many countries. In addition, the trustee services, investment services (including advice to persons, institutions and other entities on the investment of pension assets and assumption of discretionary investment management responsibilities) and retirement and employee benefit program administrative services provided by Mercer and its subsidiaries and affiliates are also subject to investment and securities regulations in various jurisdictions, including regulations imposed or enforced by the SEC and the Department of Labor in the United States, the FCA in the United Kingdom, the Central Bank of Ireland and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. In the United States, Mercer provides investment services through Mercer Investment Management, Inc. and Mercer Investment Consulting LLC, each an SEC-registered investment adviser in the United States. Mercer Trust Company, a New Hampshire chartered trust bank, provides services for Mercer’s investment management business in the United States. The benefits insurance consulting and brokerage services provided by Mercer and its subsidiaries and affiliates are subject to the same licensing requirements and regulatory oversight as the insurance market intermediaries described above regarding our Risk and Insurance Services businesses. Mercer uses the services of MMC Securities LLC to provide certain retirement and employee benefit services. Oliver Wyman Group uses the services of MMC Securities (Europe) Limited in the European Union, primarily in connection with corporate finance advisory services.
FATCA. Regulations promulgated by the U.S. Treasury Department pursuant to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and related legislation (FATCA) require the Company to take various measures relating to non-U.S. funds, transactions and accounts. The regulations impose on Mercer certain client financial account tracking and disclosure obligations with respect to non-U.S. financial institution and insurance
clients, and until recently, required Marsh and Guy Carpenter (and Mercer, in limited circumstances) to collect, validate and maintain certain documentation from each foreign insurance entity that insures a risk that is subject to the regulations. On December 13, 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department modified these rules, effectively relieving Marsh and Guy Carpenter from FATCA compliance with respect to its handling of non-cash value premium payments. As it relates to these non-cash value insurance premiums, the new rules were put into immediate effect.
COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS
The Company faces strong competition in all of its businesses from providers of similar products and services, including competition with regard to identifying and pursuing acquisition candidates. The Company also encounters strong competition throughout its businesses from both public corporations and private firms in attracting and retaining qualified employees. In addition to the discussion below, see "Risks Relating to the Company Generally — Competitive Risks," in Part I, Item 1A of this report.
Risk and Insurance Services. The Company's combined insurance and reinsurance services businesses are global in scope. Our insurance and reinsurance businesses compete principally on sophistication, range, quality and cost of the services and products they offer to clients. The Company encounters strong competition from other insurance and reinsurance brokerage firms that operate on a global, regional, national or local scale, from a large number of regional and local firms in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere, from insurance and reinsurance companies that market, distribute and service their insurance and reinsurance products without the assistance of brokers or agents and from other businesses, including commercial and investment banks, accounting firms, consultants and online platforms, that provide risk-related services and products or alternatives to traditional insurance brokerage services. In addition, third party capital providers have entered the insurance and reinsurance risk transfer market offering products and capital directly to the Company’s clients. Their presence in the market increases the competitive pressures that the Company faces.
Certain insureds and groups of insureds have established programs of self-insurance (including captive insurance companies) as a supplement or alternative traditional third-party insurance, thereby reducing in some cases their need for insurance placements. Certain insureds also obtain coverage directly from insurance providers. There are also many other providers of managing general agency, affinity programs and private client services, including specialized firms, insurance companies and other institutions.
Consulting. The Company's consulting businesses face strong competition from other privately and publicly held worldwide and national companies, as well as regional and local firms. These businesses generally compete on the basis of the range, quality and cost of the services and products they provide to clients. Competitors include independent consulting and outsourcing firms, as well as consulting and outsourcing operations affiliated with accounting, information systems, technology and financial services firms. Mercer's investments business faces competition from many sources, including investment consulting firms (many of which offer delegated services) and other financial institutions. In some cases, clients have the option of handling the services provided by Mercer and Oliver Wyman Group internally, without assistance from outside advisors.
Segmentation of Activity by Type of Service and Geographic Area of Operation.
Financial information relating to the types of services provided by the Company and the geographic areas of its operations is incorporated herein by reference to Note 17 to the consolidated financial statements included under Part II, Item 8 of this report.
Employees
As of December 31, 2018, the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries employed over 65,000 colleagues worldwide, including approximately 36,000 in Risk and Insurance Services and 28,000 in Consulting.
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE COMPANY
The executive officers and executive officer appointees of the Company are appointed annually by the Company’s Board of Directors. The following individuals are the executive officers of the Company:
Peter J. Beshar, age 57, is Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Marsh & McLennan Companies. Mr. Beshar leads the Company’s Legal, Compliance, Public Affairs, Risk Management and External Communications Departments. Before joining Marsh & McLennan Companies in November 2004, Mr. Beshar was a Litigation Partner in the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. Mr. Beshar joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in 1995 after serving as an Assistant Attorney General in the New York Attorney General's office and as the Special Assistant to Cyrus Vance in connection with the peace negotiations in the former Yugoslavia.
John Q. Doyle, age 55, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh and oversees all of Marsh’s businesses and operations globally. Mr. Doyle was named CEO of Marsh in July 2017. He joined Marsh & McLennan Companies as President of Marsh in April 2016. Prior to that, he was most recently Chief Executive Officer of AIG’s commercial insurance businesses. Mr. Doyle began his career at AIG in 1986 and held several senior executive positions, including President and Chief Executive Officer of AIG property and casualty in the U.S., President and Chief Executive Officer of National Union Fire Insurance Company, and President of American Home Assurance Company.
Martine Ferland, age 57, is Group President of Mercer. Effective March 1, 2019, Ms. Ferland will assume the position of President and CEO of Mercer. Ms. Ferland joined Mercer in 2011 as Retirement Business Leader for EMEA Region. She then served as Europe and Pacific Region President and Co-President, Global Health, before being named Mercer Group President. Prior to joining Mercer she held senior leadership positions at Willis Towers Watson in Montreal and New York. She is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.
E. Scott Gilbert, age 63, is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Marsh & McLennan Companies. In addition, Mr. Gilbert oversees the Company's global Business Resiliency and Security operations. Prior to assuming his current role in September 2015, Mr. Gilbert served as Senior Vice President and Chief Risk and Compliance Officer of the Company. Prior to joining Marsh & McLennan Companies in January 2005, he had been the Chief Compliance Counsel of the General Electric Company since September 2004. Prior thereto, he was Counsel, Litigation and Legal Policy at GE. Between 1986 and 1992, when he joined GE, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York.
Daniel S. Glaser, age 58, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh & McLennan Companies. Prior to assuming his current role in 2013, Mr. Glaser served as Group President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, with operational and strategic oversight of its Risk and Insurance Services and Consulting segments. He rejoined Marsh & McLennan Companies in December 2007 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh, returning to the firm where he had begun his career right out of university in 1982. Mr. Glaser is an insurance industry veteran who has held senior positions in commercial insurance and insurance brokerage, working in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. Mr. Glaser serves as the Chairman of the U.S. Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance (FACI). He is a member of the Boards of Trustees for The Institutes and Ohio Wesleyan University; the Board of Directors for the Partnership for New York City; and the Advisory Councils for St. George’s Society of New York and BritishAmerican Business.
Peter Hearn, age 63, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Guy Carpenter. Previously, he was Global Chairman of Willis Re from March 2011 to June 2015. Prior to that, Mr. Hearn served as the company’s Global CEO from February 2005 to March 2011, during which time he was also a member of the Willis Group Executive Committee. Mr. Hearn began his reinsurance career in 1978 with Willis Faber and Dumas, working in the North American casualty, facultative, marine, and North American reinsurance divisions until 1981, when he joined Towers Perrin Forster and Crosby. Mr. Hearn joined Willis Re as a Senior Vice President in 1994.
Laurie Ledford, age 61, is Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Marsh & McLennan Companies. Ms. Ledford is responsible for Marsh & McLennan Companies' overall human capital and talent strategy and the delivery of human resources services to all our colleagues worldwide. Prior to her current role, Ms. Ledford served as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for Marsh Inc.
Ms. Ledford joined Marsh in 2000 and was named CHRO in 2006, after having served as Senior Human Resources Director for Marsh's International Specialty Operations. Her prior experience was with Citibank and NationsBank.
Scott McDonald, age 52, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Oliver Wyman Group. Prior to assuming this role in January 2014, Mr. McDonald was President of Oliver Wyman. Before becoming President of Oliver Wyman in 2012, Mr. McDonald was the Managing Partner of Oliver Wyman's Financial Services practice and has held a number of senior positions, including the Global head of the Corporate & Institutional Banking practice. Before joining Oliver Wyman in 1995, he was an M&A investment banker with RBC Dominion Securities in Toronto.
Mark McGivney, age 51, is Chief Financial Officer of Marsh & McLennan Companies and has held this position since January 1, 2016. Prior to his current role, Mr. McGivney held a number of senior financial management positions since joining the Company in 2007, including Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance, Chief Financial Officer of Marsh, and Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Mercer. His prior experience includes senior positions at The Hanover Insurance Group, including serving as Senior Vice President of Finance, Treasurer, and Chief Financial Officer of the Property & Casualty business, and investment banking positions at Merrill Lynch and Salomon Brothers.
Julio A. Portalatin, age 59, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Mercer. Effective March 1, 2019, Mr. Portalatin will serve as Vice Chairman of Marsh & McLennan Companies and will no longer serve as an executive officer of Marsh & McLennan Companies. Prior to joining Mercer in February 2012, Mr. Portalatin was the President and CEO of Chartis Growth Economies, and Senior Vice President, American International Group (AIG). In that role, he had responsibility for operations in Asia Pacific, South Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Central Europe. Mr. Portalatin began his career with AIG in 1993 and thereafter held a number of key leadership roles, including President of the Worldwide Accident & Health Division at American International Underwriters (AIU) from 2002-2007. From 2007-2010, he served as President and CEO of Chartis Europe S.A. and Continental European Region, based in Paris, before becoming President and CEO of Chartis Emerging Markets. Prior to joining AIG / Chartis, Mr. Portalatin spent 12 years with Allstate Insurance Company in various executive product underwriting, distribution and marketing positions. Mr. Portalatin also serves on the Board of Directors of DXC Technology.
AVAILABLE INFORMATION
The Company is subject to the information reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In accordance with the Exchange Act, the Company files with, or furnishes to, the SEC annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. The Company makes these reports and any amendments to these reports available free of charge through its website, www.mmc.com, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. The SEC also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, like the Company, that file electronically with the SEC.
The Company also posts on its website certain governance and other information for investors.
The Company encourages investors to visit these websites from time to time, as information is updated and new information is posted. Website references in this report are provided as a convenience and do not constitute, and should not be viewed as, incorporation by reference of the information contained on, or available through, the websites. Therefore, such information should not be considered part of this report.
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