How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Mercer Advisors
Covers 4 investment, 4 retirement, and 2 insurance accounts — beneficiaries can be managed online
Mercer Advisors (main line)
Mercer Global Advisors Inc., 1200 17th Street, Suite 2000, Denver, CO 80202
Estate Planning / Wealth Strategy (documents prepared through the law firm Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.)
Mercer Global Advisors Inc., 1200 17th Street, Suite 2000, Denver, CO 80202
No Mercer Advisors claims department. Mercer holds no assets: the death claim is filed with the account custodian (Schwab, Fidelity, Raymond James, Goldman Sachs Custody Solutions, or National Advisors Trust Company for trust assets) or with the issuing insurance carrier. The advisory team coordinates.
Preparing your Mercer Advisors investment accounts for estate transfer involves two primary strategies: designating beneficiaries on individual accounts and, where supported, retitling accounts into a revocable living trust. Both approaches bypass probate, but they work differently depending on the account type.
Across 10 product types, Mercer Advisors investment accounts vary in how they transfer at death. The sections below walk through Transfer on Death (TOD) designations, trust funding options, and which products support each method.
- Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
- Fidelity
- Raymond James
- Goldman Sachs Custody Solutions
- National Advisors Trust Company (NATC), for trust-related assets
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- Mercer Advisors publishes no beneficiary form of its own -- every designation is made on the custodian's or the insurance carrier's paperwork
- The custodian's record controls at death. A beneficiary named in an estate plan Mercer helped build has no effect on an IRA whose custodian still shows an old designation
- A trust can be named as beneficiary of an IRA, an annuity, or a life insurance policy, but not as owner of an IRA
- Some custodians require a Medallion Signature Guarantee on a TOD registration or a change of registration
- Estate planning is included in the advisory fee at the Custom Wealth service level ($1 million+) and above; Guided Investing is investment management only and does not include it
Sources
Data sourced from Mercer Advisors primary sources (13 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Mercer Advisors instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Mercer Advisors primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Mercer Advisors (main line)
Mercer Global Advisors Inc., 1200 17th Street, Suite 2000, Denver, CO 80202
Estate Planning / Wealth Strategy (documents prepared through the law firm Advanced Services Law Group, Inc.)
Mercer Global Advisors Inc., 1200 17th Street, Suite 2000, Denver, CO 80202
No Mercer Advisors claims department. Mercer holds no assets: the death claim is filed with the account custodian (Schwab, Fidelity, Raymond James, Goldman Sachs Custody Solutions, or National Advisors Trust Company for trust assets) or with the issuing insurance carrier. The advisory team coordinates.
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