Ipac has appointed fellow asset consultant Watson Wyatt to advise it on global sector strategies and manager searches.

Steven Hall, head of ipac investment services, said the deal would supplement ipac’s inhouse research capabilities. Watson Wyatt will consult on global sector strategies as well as manager searches, but not domestic research which will remain inhouse. “We think we’ve already got a strong edge in domestic research,” Hall said. Although Watson Wyatt will not consult on domestic managers, ipac will have access to its Dream Database which includes views and research notes on domestic as well as global managers. The contract will be periodically reviewed, but Hall said ipac’s intention was for the relationship to be long term. He said appointing an asset consultant was a lengthy process, which ipac approached in much the same way it tackled appointing a manager, including making site visits. Ipac has used Watson Wyatt in Hong Kong for its Asia Pacific mandates for the past two years.