UNITED STATES- Mercer Investment Consulting is growing its real estate staff with the hiring of David Nix as a senior researcher.

Nix's main duties will be to conduct research and analysis of value-added and opportunity commingled funds for the consultant to consider recommending to its pension fund clients.

Most of the commingled funds that he will be following and taking a look at will be investing in real estate assets in North America.

Mercer is focusing on value-added and opportunity funds given how the real estate markets are currently performing and that the value of core assets is still falling. 

Nix joins Mercer after specializing in acquisitions with a variety of real estate firms on both the public and private side of the business. He was most recently involved buying properties for the AMB Property Company.  Before that he was at IDI which purchased or developed industrial properties.

Mercer is still looking to add two more people to its real estate staff around the world, with one based in the US and the other in London.