United States



New York ,

23 June 2009

Mercer, a
leading benefits administration outsourcing provider, has recently launched
“equity choice,” a new online decision-support tool. For those employers
who are offering an equity exchange program, the tool provides employees with a
simple and easy way to compare the choices in their stock option program,
including restricted stock units (RSUs) or other alternative investments, model
various scenarios based on the offerings, and enable the decision-making
process.

“Due to the
current unprecedented economic environment and the related drop in stock prices,
many companies are realizing that their stock option offering within their
long-term incentive plan is not providing the value and retention power it once
did,” explained Michael Sternklar, Chief Operation Officer and Head of the
Americas for Mercer’s outsourcing business.  “Switching from stock options
to RSUs or another alternative investment is one solution that some companies
are implementing, but it can be a daunting change to administer and a confusing
process for participating employees. The equity choice tool was designed to
specifically ease this administrative burden for employers and simplify the
decision-making process for employees.”

Historically, employers offered stock option programs as
part of a long-term incentive plan whereby employees can purchase a given number
of company shares at a pre-set price after a specific vesting period. Under
more normal market conditions, employees can typically profit by selling their
shares since the market price is usually higher than the purchase
price. With so many shares now below the purchase price (often referred to
as “under water”), in many cases employees can no longer realize a gain from
selling the shares – leaving employers with a long-term incentive plan with
little or no value. This has prompted some companies to consider equity
exchange programs as a retention tool.

Key features
of the equity choice tool include personalized stock option and RSU data,
easy-to-use calculators, and educational information (see Figure 1).


Individuals can also model various scenarios specific to their own
portfolio to help them choose the most appropriate exchange option (if any).
Finally, employers can “capture” and implement employee decisions to allow for a
completely automated, one-stop conversion experience.

“Clients
have told us that equity choice is the most complete, robust, and easy-to-use
online tool in the marketplace for helping employees make informed decisions
around their stock option plan,” said Mr. Sternklar.

Figure 1 – Mercer’s equity choice online decision
support tool

About
Mercer

Mercer is a
leading global provider of consulting, outsourcing, and investment services.
Mercer works with clients to solve their most complex benefit and human capital
issues, designing and helping manage health, retirement, and other benefits. It
is a leader in benefits outsourcing. Mercer’s investment services include
investment consulting and multi-manager investment management. Mercer’s 18,000
employees are based in more than 40 countries. The company is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock
(ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York, Chicago, and London stock exchanges.

 For
more information, visit www.mercer.com.