Mercer, the global investment and talent consulting firm, has bulked up its investment and retirement offering in growth markets in Asia, as well as Europe, with a string of new appointments.

Jeff Schutes has been appointed to the newly created position of head of the investments business in the growth markets, covering Asia, the Middle East and Turkey, Africa and Latin America. Schutes joined Mercer in 1995 and most recently served as global leader of manager research and head of the Latin America investments business.

Andrew Kirton succeeds Tom Geraghty as head of the investments business in Europe after the latter took the post of market leader and chief executive for Ireland. Kirton became part of the company in 1998 and since 2010 has served as the global chief investment officer.

Finally, Akhil Sethi takes the newly created position of head of the retirement business in the growth markets. Sethi joined the firm in 1987 and most recently was the global chief operating officer for the retirement business.

"The newly created roles for Schutes and Sethi reflect our commitment to invest in and maximise our opportunities in the growth markets," commented Julio Portalatin, president and CEO of Mercer, in a statement.

Mercer, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan, operates in over 40 countries. It has 53,000 employees worldwide and records an annual revenue of at least $10 billion.