MRSH, §1A diff (2019 → 2020)

Item 1A. Risk Factors You should consider the risks described below in conjunction with the other information presented in this report. These risks have the potential to materially adversely affect the Company's business, results of operations or financial condition. SUMMARY RISK FACTORS Some of the factors that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects, include the following: •The COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse effect on our business operations, results of operations, cash flows and financial position; •Our results of operations and investments could be adversely affected by macroeconomic conditions, political events and market conditions; •Our business performance and growth plans could be negatively affected if we are not able to develop and implement improvements in technology or respond effectively to the threat of digital disruption and other technological change; •We could incur significant liability or our reputation could be damaged if our information systems are breached or we otherwise fail to protect client or Company data or information systems; •The costs to comply with, or our failure to comply with, U.S. and foreign laws related to privacy, data security and data protection, such as the E.U. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and our reputation; •We are subject to significant uninsured exposures arising from errors and omissions, breach of fiduciary duty and other claims; •We cannot guarantee that we are or will be in compliance with all current and potentially applicable U.S. federal and state or foreign laws and regulations, and actions by regulatory authorities or changes in legislation and regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business; •Our business or reputation could be harmed by our reliance on third-party providers or introducers; •The loss of members of our senior management team or other key colleagues could have a material adverse effect on our business; •Failure to maintain our corporate culture could damage our reputation; •Increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, clients and our colleagues with respect to our environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices may impose additional costs on us or expose us to new or additional risks; •We face significant competitive pressures in each of our businesses, including from disintermediation, as our competitive landscape continues to evolve; •We rely on a large number of vendors and other third parties to perform key functions of our business operations and to provide services to our clients. These vendors and third parties may act in ways that could harm our business; •Our inability to successfully recover should we experience a disaster or other business continuity or data recovery problem could cause material financial loss, loss of human capital, regulatory actions, reputational harm or legal liability; •We face risks when we acquire businesses; •If we are unable to collect our receivables, our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected; •We may not be able to obtain sufficient financing on favorable terms; •Our defined benefit pension plan obligations could cause the Company's financial position, earnings and cash flows to fluctuate; •Our significant non-U.S. operations expose us to exchange rate fluctuations and various risks that could impact our business; •Our quarterly revenues and profitability may fluctuate significantly; •Credit rating downgrades would increase our financing costs and could subject us to operational risk; •We have significantly increased our debt as a result of the JLT acquisition, which could adversely affect our financial flexibility; •The current U.S. tax regime makes our results more difficult to predict; •We are exposed to multiple risks associated with the global nature of our operations; •Results in our Risk and Insurance Services segment may be adversely affected by a general decline in economic activity; •Volatility or declines in premiums and other market trends may significantly impede our ability to grow revenues and profitability; •Adverse legal developments and future regulations concerning how intermediaries are compensated by insurers or clients, as well as allegations of anti-competitive behavior or conflicts of interest more broadly, could have a material adverse effect on Marsh’s business, results of operations and financial condition; •Mercer’s Investments business is subject to a number of risks, including risks related to third-party investment managers, operational risk, conflicts of interest, asset performance and regulatory compliance, that, if realized, could result in significant damage to our business; •Revenues for the services provided by our Consulting segment may decline for various reasons, including as a result of changes in economic conditions, the value of equity, debt and other asset classes, our clients’ or an industry's financial condition or government regulation or an accelerated trend away from actively managed investments to passively managed investments; •Factors affecting defined benefit pension plans and the services we provide relating to those plans could adversely affect Mercer; and •The profitability of our Consulting segment may decline if we are unable to achieve or maintain adequate utilization and pricing rates for our consultants. RISKS RELATING TO THE COMPANY GENERALLY Macroeconomic Risks The COVID-19 pandemic could have a material adverse effect on our business operations, results of operations, cash flows and financial position. Global health concerns relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and related government actions taken to reduce the spread of the virus have had a dramatic impact on the macroeconomic environment, and the outbreak continues to materially increase economic uncertainty and reduce economic activity. The outbreak has resulted in authorities implementing numerous measures to try to contain the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, shelter in place or total lock-down orders and business limitations and shutdowns. Such measures have significantly contributed to decreased levels of business activity of our clients and the industries and markets that we serve. Governments around the globe have taken steps to mitigate some of the more severe anticipated economic effects of the virus, but there can be no assurance that such steps will be effective or achieve their desired results in a timely fashion. The outbreak has adversely impacted and is likely to further adversely impact our workforce and operations and the operations of our clients, third-party vendors and business partners. The spread of COVID-19 has caused us to modify our business practices (including transitioning substantially all of our colleagues to a remote work environment, restricting colleague travel, developing social distancing plans for our colleagues and cancelling physical participation in meetings, events and conferences), and we may take further actions as may be required by government authorities or as we determine are in the best interests of our colleagues, clients and business partners. There is no certainty how long such policies will remain in effect or that such measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by the virus or will otherwise be satisfactory to government authorities. The ongoing impacts of COVID-19 may affect our ability to generate new business, our overall level of profitability and cash flow, and our liquidity due to a number of macroeconomic and operational factors. Such factors may include: •in our Risk and Insurance Services segment, a reduction in demand, pricing and commission for specific lines of coverage most directly affected by COVID-19; •in our Consulting segment, a reduction in fees or commission due to lower demand for our services as clients cut back on expenses; the impact on our business model for delivering services to clients due to restrictions on travel and movement, and guidance around social distancing; and the impact on profitability and margin of not achieving or maintaining adequate utilization and pricing rates; •the timeliness and ultimate collectability of our receivables, including as a result of deferrals of premium payments directed by government authorities, which affects our ability to generate sufficient cash flows; •the impact of disruption in the credit or financial markets, or changes to our credit ratings, which may impact our ability to access capital or repay our significant outstanding indebtedness on favorable terms and our compliance with the covenants contained in the agreements that govern our indebtedness; •an increase in errors & omissions claims related to losses incurred by policyholders arising from the pandemic; •the impact of financial market volatility, including our ability to execute timely trades in light of increased trading volume, which may reduce assets under management and revenue for Mercer’s Investments business; •failure of third parties upon which we rely to meet their obligations to us, or significant disruptions in their ability to meet those obligations in a timely manner, which may be caused by their own financial or operational difficulties; •the impact of an extended period of remote work arrangements on our business continuity plans, and our ability to continue to provide services to our clients; •increased risk of phishing and other cybersecurity attacks or unauthorized dissemination of personal, confidential, proprietary or sensitive data caused by remote work arrangements; and •the potential effects on our internal controls including those over financial reporting as a result of remote work arrangements that are applicable to our team members and business partners. These factors may remain prevalent for a significant period of time and may continue to adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had an adverse impact to the Company’s revenue growth, primarily in our businesses that are discretionary in nature, which was partly mitigated through disciplined expense management by implementing restrictions on travel and other cost containment measures. However impacts from COVID-19 in 2020 may not be representative of future conditions. The extent to which the COVID-19 outbreak continues to impact our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which remain highly uncertain and are difficult to predict, including the duration and spread of the outbreak, its severity and strain mutations, the actions to contain the virus and the development and availability of effective treatments and vaccines, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume. Even after the COVID-19 outbreak subsides, we may continue to experience materially adverse impacts to our business as a result of the virus’s global economic impact, including the availability of credit, adverse impacts on our liquidity and any recession that has occurred or may occur in the future. There are no comparable recent events that provide guidance as to the effect the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic may have, and, as a result, the ultimate impact of the outbreak is highly uncertain and subject to change. We do not yet know the full extent of the impacts on our business, our operations or the global economy as a whole. However, the effects could have a material impact on our results of operations and heighten many of our known risks in this section. Our results of operations and investments could be adversely affected by macroeconomic conditions, political events and market conditions. Macroeconomic conditions, political events and other market conditions around the world affect our clients' businesses and the markets they serve. These conditions may reduce demand for our services or depress pricing for those services, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Changes in macroeconomic and political conditions could also shift demand to services for which we do not have a competitive advantage, and this could negatively affect the amount of business that we are able to obtain. In particular, please see above for detailed risks related to the impact of COVID-19. In addition, the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, referred to as "Brexit," continues to create political and economic uncertainty, particularly in the United Kingdom and the European Union. While the British government and the E.U. negotiated terms of the withdrawal in December 2020, the agreement did not contain resolutions related to financial services. Accordingly, there remains inevitable uncertainty on the treatment of financial services and the impact of the other terms of the agreement generally on our businesses. We have significant operations and a substantial workforce in the U.K. With 12,500 colleagues and approximately 16% of our revenue from the U.K., the uncertainty surrounding the implementation and effect of Brexit may cause increased economic volatility, affecting our operations and business. The effects of Brexit will depend on the agreements the U.K. makes to retain access to European Union markets and the systems put in place to facilitate future trade and economic relationships. The measures could potentially disrupt the markets we serve and may cause us to lose clients and colleagues. In addition, Brexit could lead to legal uncertainty and potentially divergent national laws and regulations as the U.K. determines which European Union laws to replace or replicate. These developments may have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of financial markets, both in the U.K. and globally. Any of these factors could affect the demand for our services. Furthermore, currency exchange rates in GBP and the Euro with respect to each other and the U.S. dollar have already been adversely affected by these developments. Should this foreign exchange volatility continue, it could cause volatility in our quarterly financial results. More generally, our investments, including our minority investments in other companies as well as our cash investments and those held in a fiduciary capacity, are subject to general credit, liquidity, counterparty, foreign exchange, market and interest rate risks. These risks may be exacerbated by global macroeconomic conditions, market volatility and regulatory, financial and other difficulties affecting the companies in which we have invested or that may be faced by financial institution counterparties. During times of stress in the banking industry, counterparty risk can quickly escalate, potentially resulting in substantial trading and investment losses for corporate and other investors. In addition, we may incur investment losses as a result of unusual and unpredictable market developments, and we may continue to experience reduced investment earnings if the yields on investments deemed to be low risk remain at or near their current low levels. If the banking system or the fixed income, interest rate, credit or equity markets deteriorate, the value and liquidity of our investments could be adversely affected. Finally, the value of the Company's assets held in other jurisdictions, including cash holdings, may decline due to foreign exchange fluctuations. Technology, Cybersecurity and Data Protection Risks Our business performance and growth plans could be negatively affected if we are not able to develop and implement improvements in technology or respond effectively to the threat of digital disruption and other technological change. We depend in large part on our technology systems for conducting business, as well as for providing the data and analytics we use to manage our business. As a result, our business success is dependent on maintaining the effectiveness of existing technology systems and on continuing to develop and enhance technology systems that support our business processes and strategic initiatives in a cost and resource efficient manner, particularly as our business processes become more digital. We have a number of strategic initiatives involving investments in or partnerships with technology companies as part of our growth strategy, as well as investments in technology and infrastructure to support our own systems. These investments may be costly and require significant capital expenditures, may not be profitable or may be less profitable than what we have experienced historically. In addition, investments in technology systems may not deliver the benefits or perform as expected, or may be replaced or become obsolete more quickly than expected, which could result in operational difficulties or additional costs. In some cases, we also depend on key vendors and partners to provide technology and other support for our strategic initiatives. If these vendors or partners fail to perform their obligations or otherwise cease to work with us, our ability to execute on our strategic initiatives could be adversely affected. If we do not keep up with technological changes or execute effectively on our strategic initiatives, our business and results of operations could be adversely impacted. In addition, to remain competitive in many of our business areas, we must anticipate and respond effectively to the threat of digital disruption and other technological change. The threat comes from traditional players, such as insurers, through disintermediation as well as from new entrants, such as technology companies, "Insurtech" start-up companies and others. In the past few years, there has been a substantial increase in private equity investments into these Insurtech companies. These players are focused on using technology and innovation, including artificial intelligence (AI), digital platforms, data analytics, robotics and blockchain, to simplify and improve the client experience, increase efficiencies, alter business models and effect other potentially disruptive changes in the industries in which we operate. We could incur significant liability or our reputation could be damaged if our information systems are breached or we otherwise fail to protect client or Company data or information systems. In operating our business and providing services and solutions to clients, we collect, use, store, transmit and otherwise process certain electronic information, including personal, confidential, proprietary and sensitive data such as information related to financial records, health care, mergers and acquisitions and personal data of our clients, colleagues and vendors. We rely on the efficient, uninterrupted and secure operation of complex information technology systems and networks to operate our business and securely process, transmit and store electronic information. In the normal course of business, we also share electronic information with our vendors and other third parties. This electronic information comprises sensitive and confidential data, including information related to financial records, health care, mergers and acquisitions and clients’ personal data. Our information technology systems and safety control systems, and those of our numerous third-party providers, as well as the control systems of critical infrastructure they rely on, such as power grids, are potentially vulnerable to unauthorized access, damage or interruption from a variety of external threats, including cyberattacks, computer viruses and other malware, ransomware and other types of data and systems-related modes of attack. Our systems are also subject to compromise from internal threats such as improper action by employees, vendors and other third parties with otherwise legitimate access to our systems. Moreover, we face the ongoing challenge of managing access controls in a complex environment. The latency of a compromise is often measured in months but could be years, and we may not be able to detect a compromise in a timely manner. We could experience significant financial and reputational harm if our information systems are breached, sensitive client or Company data are compromised, surreptitiously modified, rendered inaccessible for any period of time or maliciously made public, or if we fail to make adequate or timely disclosures to the public or law enforcement agencies following any such event, whether due to delayed discovery or a failure to follow existing protocols. Cyberattacks are increasing in frequency and evolving in nature. We are at risk of attack by a variety of adversaries, including state-sponsored organizations, organized crime, hackers or "hactivists" (activist hackers), through use of increasingly sophisticated methods of attack, including the deployment of artificial intelligence to find and exploit vulnerabilities, such as “deep fakes”, and long-term, persistent attacks referred to as advanced persistent threats. These techniques used to obtain unauthorized access or sabotage systems include, among other things, computer viruses, malicious or destructive code, ransomware, social engineering attacks (including phishing and impersonation), hacking and denial-of-service attacks. Because these techniques change frequently and new techniques may not be identified until they are launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures, resulting in potential data loss, data unavailability, data corruption or other damage to information technology systems. In addition, remote work arrangements in response to COVID-19 have increased the risk of phishing and other cybersecurity attacks or unauthorized dissemination of personal, confidential, proprietary or sensitive data. As the breadth and complexity of the technologies we use and the software and platforms we develop continue to grow, including as a result of the use of mobile devices, cloud services, "open source" software, social media and the increased reliance on devices connected to the Internet (known as the "Internet of Things"), the potential risk of security breaches and cyber-attacks also increases. Despite ongoing efforts to improve our ability to protect data from compromise, we may not be able to protect all of our data across our diverse systems. Our efforts to improve and protect data from compromise may also identify previously undiscovered instances of security breaches or other cyber incidents. Our policies, employee training (including phishing prevention training), procedures and technical safeguards may also be insufficient to prevent or detect improper access to confidential, personal or proprietary information. In addition, the competition for talent in the data privacy and cybersecurity space is intense, and we may also be unable to hire, develop or retain suitable talent capable of adequately detecting, mitigating or remediating these risks. Should an attacker gain access to our network using compromised credentials of an authorized user, we are at risk that the attacker might successfully leverage that access to compromise additional systems and data. Certain measures that could increase the security of our systems, such as data encryption (including encryption of data at rest), heightened monitoring and logging, scanning for source code errors or deployment of multi-factor authentication, take significant time and resources to deploy broadly, and such measures may not be deployed in a timely manner or be effective against an attack. The inability to implement, maintain and upgrade adequate safeguards could have a material adverse effect on our business. Our information systems must be continually updated, patched, and upgraded to protect against known vulnerabilities. The volume of new software vulnerabilities has increased markedly, as has the criticality of patches and other remedial measures. In addition to remediating newly identified vulnerabilities, previously identified vulnerabilities must also be continuously addressed. Accordingly, we are at risk that cyberattackers exploit these known vulnerabilities before they have been communicated by vendors or addressed. Due to the large number and age of the systems and platforms that we operate, the increased frequency at which vendors are issuing security patches to their products, the need to test patches and, in some cases coordinate with clients and vendors, before they can be deployed, we perpetually face the substantial risk that we cannot deploy patches in a timely manner. We are also dependent on third party vendors to keep their systems patched and secure in order to protect our data. Any failure related to these activities could have a material adverse effect on our business. We have numerous vendors and other third parties who receive personal information from us in connection with the services we offer our clients. We also use hundreds of IT vendors and software providers to maintain and secure our global information systems infrastructure. In addition, we have migrated certain data, and may increasingly migrate data, to the cloud hosted by third-party providers. Some of these vendors and third parties also have direct access to our systems. We are at risk of a cyberattack involving a vendor or other third party, which could result in a breakdown of such third party’s data protection processes or the cyberattackers gaining access to our infrastructure through a supply chain attack. For example, in December 2020, it was widely reported that hackers installed malware into business software updates provided by SolarWinds. The attack was widespread, affecting public and private organizations around the world, including several U.S. government agencies. While we do not believe our operations were affected by this latest attack, it highlighted the vulnerability of IT supply chains. We have a history of making acquisitions and investments, and in April 2019 we completed the acquisition of JLT. The process of integrating the information systems of any businesses we acquire is complex and exposes us to additional risk. For instance, we may not adequately identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in an acquired entity’s information systems, either before or after the acquisition, which could affect the value we are able to derive from the acquisition, expose us to unexpected liabilities or make our own systems more vulnerable to a cyberattack. In addition, if we discover a historical compromise, security breach or other cyber incident related to the target’s information systems following the close of the acquisition, we may be liable and exposed to significant costs and other unforeseen liabilities. We may also be unable to integrate the systems of the businesses we acquire into our environment in a timely manner, which could further increase these risks until such integration takes place. We have from time to time experienced data incidents and cybersecurity breaches, such as malware incursions (including computer viruses and ransomware), users exceeding their data access authorization, employee misconduct and incidents resulting from human error, such as loss of portable and other data storage devices or misconfiguration of software or hardware resulting in inadvertent exposure of personal, sensitive, confidential or proprietary information. Like many companies, we are subject to social engineering attacks such as regular phishing email campaigns directed at our employees that can result in malware infections and data loss. Although these incidents have resulted in data loss and other damages, to date, they have not had a material adverse effect on our business or operations. In the future, these types of incidents could result in personal, sensitive, confidential or proprietary information being lost or stolen, surreptitiously modified, rendered inaccessible for any period of time, or maliciously made public, including client, employee or Company data, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. In the event of a cyberattack, we might have to take our systems offline, which could interfere with services to our clients or damage our reputation. We also may be unable to detect an incident, assess its severity or impact, or appropriately respond in a timely manner. In addition, our liability insurance, which includes cyber insurance, may not be sufficient in type or amount to cover us against claims related to security breaches, cyberattacks and other related data and system incidents. The costs to comply with, or our failure to comply with, U.S. and foreign laws related to privacy, data security and data protection, such as the E.U. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), could adversely affect our financial condition, operating results and our reputation. Improper disclosure of confidential, personal, or proprietary data could result in regulatory scrutiny, legal and financial liability, or harm to our reputation. In operating our business and providing services and solutions to clients, particularly in our Consulting segment, we store and transfer sensitive employee and client data, including personal data, in and across multiple jurisdictions. We leverage systems and applications that are spread all over the world requiring us to regularly move data across national borders. As a result, we are subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States, Europe and around the world regarding privacy, data protection, data security and cyber-security. These laws and regulations are continuously evolving and developing. Some of these laws and regulations are increasing the level of data handling restrictions, including rules on data localization, all of which could affect our operations and result in regulatory liability and high fines. In particular, high-profile security breaches at major companies continue to be disclosed regularly, which is leading to even greater regulatory scrutiny and fines at the highest levels they have ever been. The scope and interpretation of the laws that are or may be applicable to us are often uncertain and may be conflicting. For example, the GDPR, which became effective in May 2018, greatly increased the European Commission’s jurisdictional reach of its laws and added a broad array of requirements for handling personal data, such as the public disclosure of data breaches, privacy impact assessments, data portability and the appointment of data protection officers in some cases. In the U.S., the CCPA came into effect in January 2019 and introduced several new concepts to local privacy requirements, including increased transparency and rights such as access and deletion and an ability to opt out of the “sale” of personal information. Despite a proliferation of regulatory guidance papers, much remains unclear with respect to how to interpret and implement the GDPR and the CCPA, and that lack of clarity could result in potential liability for our failure to meet our obligations under the GDPR and the CCPA. Given the breadth and depth of changes in data protection obligations, including classifying data and committing to a range of administrative, technical and physical controls to protect data and enable data transfers outside of the E.U., our compliance with laws such as the GDPR and the CCPA will continue to require time, resources and review of the technology and systems we use. Further, the European Union Court of Justice's "Schrems II" decision and Brexit have created uncertainty with regard to the future of the flow of personal information between the United Kingdom and the E.U., respectively, and that uncertainty may impair our ability to offer our existing and planned products and services or increase our cost of doing business. Following the implementation of the GDPR, other jurisdictions have sought to amend, or propose legislation to amend, their existing data protection laws to align with the requirements of the GDPR with the aim of obtaining an adequate level of data protection to facilitate the transfer of personal data to most jurisdictions from the E.U. Accordingly, the challenges we face in the E.U. will likely also apply to other jurisdictions that adopt laws similar to the GDPR or regulatory frameworks of equivalent complexity. For example, Brazil has enacted its general data protection law, the Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais, which came into effect in August 2020, China has proposed a new comprehensive privacy law, India is considering a new privacy law, Canada is proposing significant changes to their federal privacy law and Japan has adopted sweeping changes to its privacy law. In some cases, including China and India, the laws include data localization elements that will require that certain personal data stay within their borders. Looking at the U.S. following the passage of the CCPA, California recently approved a ballot measure that enacts the California Privacy Rights Act, making extensive modifications to the CCPA. Additionally, several other states have introduced privacy bills, some more comprehensive than the CCPA. There is also continued legislative interest in passing a federal privacy law which is likely to accelerate under the new U.S. administration. In addition to data protection laws, countries and states in the U.S. are enacting cybersecurity laws and regulations. For example, the New York State Department of Financial Services issued in 2017 cybersecurity regulations which imposed an array of detailed security measures on covered entities. These requirements were phased in and the last of them came into effect on March 1, 2019. All of these evolving compliance and operational requirements impose significant costs that are likely to increase over time, may divert resources from other initiatives and projects and could restrict the way services involving data are offered, all of which may adversely affect our results of operations. Many statutory requirements, both in the United States and abroad, include obligations for companies to notify individuals of security breaches involving certain personal information, which could result from breaches experienced by us or our vendors. In addition to government regulation, privacy advocates and industry groups have and may in the future propose self-regulatory standards from time to time. These and other industry standards may legally or contractually apply to us, or we may elect to comply with such standards. We expect that there will continue to be new proposed laws and regulations concerning data privacy and security, and we cannot yet determine the impact such future laws, regulations and standards may have on our business. Furthermore, enforcement actions and investigations by regulatory authorities related to data security incidents and privacy violations, including a recent focus on website “cookies” compliance in some countries, continue to increase. Privacy violations, including unauthorized disclosure or transfer of sensitive or confidential client or Company data, whether through systems failure, employee negligence, fraud or misappropriation, by the Company, our vendors or other parties with whom we do business (if they fail to meet the standards we impose) could damage our reputation and subject us to significant litigation, monetary damages, regulatory enforcement actions, fines and criminal prosecution in one or more jurisdictions. Given the complexity of operationalizing the various privacy laws such as the GDPR and the CCPA, the maturity level of proposed compliance frameworks and the continued lack of clarity on how to implement their requirements, we and our clients are at risk of enforcement actions taken by E.U. and other data protection authorities or litigation from consumer advocacy groups acting on behalf of data subjects. We may not be able to respond quickly or effectively to regulatory, legislative and other developments, and these changes may in turn impair our ability to offer our existing or planned products and services and increase our cost of doing business. Legal and Regulatory Risks We are subject to significant uninsured exposures arising from errors and omissions, breach of fiduciary duty and other claims. Our businesses provide numerous professional services, including the placement of insurance and the provision of consulting, investment advisory and actuarial services, to clients around the world. As a result, the Company and its subsidiaries are subject to a significant number of errors and omissions, breach of fiduciary duty and similar claims, which we refer to collectively as "E&O claims." In our Risk and Insurance Services segment, such claims include allegations of damages arising from our failure to assess clients’ risks, advise clients, place coverage or notify insurers of potential claims on behalf of clients in accordance with our obligations to them. For example, these claims may include allegations related to losses incurred by policyholders arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, or losses from cyberattacks associated with policies where cyber risk was not specifically included or excluded in policies, commonly referred to as “silent cyber.” In our Consulting segment, where we increasingly act in a fiduciary capacity through our investments business, such claims could include allegations of damages arising from the provision of consulting, investments, actuarial, pension administration and other services. We may also be exposed to claims related to assets or solutions offered by the Consulting segment in complement to its traditional consulting services. These Consulting segment services frequently involve complex calculations and other analysis, including (i) making assumptions about, and preparing estimates concerning, contingent future events, (ii) drafting and interpreting complex documentation governing pension plans, (iii) calculating benefits within complex pension structures, (iv) providing individual financial planning advice including investment advice and advice relating to cashing out of defined benefit pension plans, (v) providing investment advice, including guidance on asset allocation and investment strategy, and (vi) managing client assets, including the selection of investment managers and implementation of the client’s investment policy. We provide these services to a broad client base, including clients in the public sector for our investment services. Matters often relate to services provided by the Company dating back many years. Such claims may subject us to significant liability for monetary damages, including punitive and treble damages, negative publicity and reputational harm, and may divert personnel and management resources. We may be unable to effectively limit our potential liability in certain jurisdictions, including through insurance, or in connection with certain types of claims, particularly those concerning claims of a breach of fiduciary duty. In establishing liabilities for E&O claims under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP"), the Company uses case level reviews by inside and outside counsel, actuarial analysis by Oliver Wyman, a subsidiary of the Company, and other methods to estimate potential losses. A liability is established when a loss is both probable and reasonably estimable. The liability is assessed quarterly and adjusted as developments warrant. In many cases, the Company has not recorded a liability, other than for legal fees to defend the claim, because we are unable, at the present time, to make a determination that a loss is both probable and reasonably estimable. Given the judgment involved in estimating and establishing liabilities in accordance with U.S. GAAP, as well as the unpredictability of E&O claims and the litigation that can flow from them, it is possible that an adverse outcome in a particular matter could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations or financial condition. We cannot guarantee that we are or will be in compliance with all current and potentially applicable U.S. federal and state or foreign laws and regulations, and actions by regulatory authorities or changes in legislation and regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate could have a material adverse effect on our business. Our activities are subject to extensive regulation under the laws of the United States and its various states, the United Kingdom, the European Union and its member states, and the other jurisdictions in which we operate. For example, we are subject to regulation by agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, FINRA and state insurance regulators in the United States, the FCA and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the United Kingdom, and the European Commission in the European Union, as further described above under Part I, Item 1 - Business (Regulation) of this report. We are also subject to trade sanctions laws relating to countries such as Cuba, Crimea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela, and anti-corruption laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Anti-Bribery Act. We are subject to numerous other laws on matters as diverse as internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, securities regulation, data privacy and protection, cybersecurity, taxation, anti-trust and competition, immigration, wage-and-hour standards and employment and labor relations. The U.S. and foreign laws and regulations that apply to our operations are complex and may change rapidly, and our efforts to comply and keep up with them require significant resources. In some cases, these laws and regulations may decrease the need for our services, increase our costs, negatively impact our revenues or impose operational limitations on our business, including on the products and services we may offer or on the amount or type of compensation we may collect. In particular, changes at regulatory agencies in the U.S. occur through policy and personnel changes following elections, which often leads to changes involving the level of oversight and focus on businesses and certain industries, in particular financial services. Accordingly, the expectation is that there will be increased regulatory scrutiny and enforcement action under the new administration. While we attempt to comply with applicable laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that we, our employees, our consultants and our contractors and other agents are in full compliance with such laws and regulations or interpretations at all times, or that we will be able to comply with any future laws or regulations. If we fail to comply or are accused of failing to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including those referred to above, we may become subject to investigations, criminal penalties, civil remedies or other consequences, including fines, injunctions, loss of an operating license or approval, increased scrutiny or oversight by regulatory authorities, the suspension of individual employees, limitations on engaging in a particular business or redress to clients or other parties, and we may become exposed to negative publicity or reputational damage. Moreover, our failure to comply with laws or regulations in one jurisdiction may result in increased regulatory scrutiny by other regulatory agencies in that jurisdiction or regulatory agencies in other jurisdictions. These inquiries consume significant management attention, and the cost of compliance and the consequences of failing to be in compliance could therefore have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, we may be responsible for the legal and regulatory liabilities of companies that we acquire. In particular, upon the consummation of the acquisition of JLT, the Company assumed the legal liabilities and became responsible for JLT’s litigation and regulatory exposures as of April 1, 2019. In the fourth quarter 2020, the Company recorded a $161 million provision for a legacy JLT matter related to an FCA review of the suitability of financial advice to individuals for defined benefit pension transfers. Additional information regarding certain ongoing investigations and certain other legal and regulatory proceedings is set forth in Note 16 to our consolidated financial statements included under Part II, Item 8 of this report. In most jurisdictions, government regulatory authorities have the power to interpret and amend or repeal applicable laws and regulations, and have discretion to grant, renew and revoke the various licenses and approvals we need to conduct our activities. Such authorities may require the Company to incur substantial costs in order to comply with such laws and regulations. In some areas of our businesses, we act on the basis of our own or the industry's interpretations of applicable laws or regulations, which may conflict from state to state or country to country. In the event those interpretations eventually prove different from the interpretations of regulatory authorities, we may be penalized or precluded from carrying on our previous activities. Moreover, the laws and regulations to which we are subject may conflict among the various jurisdictions and countries in which we operate, which increases the likelihood of our businesses being non-compliant in one or more jurisdictions. Our business or reputation could be harmed by our reliance on third-party providers or introducers. We currently utilize the services of hundreds of third-party providers to meet the needs of our clients around the world. There is a risk that our third-party providers or introducers engage in business practices that are prohibited by our internal policies or violate applicable laws and regulations, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Anti-Bribery Act. Competitive Risks The loss of members of our senior management team or other key colleagues could have a material adverse effect on our business. We rely upon the contributions of our senior management team to establish and implement our business strategy and to manage the future growth of our business. The loss of any of the senior management team could limit our ability to successfully execute our business strategy or adversely affect our ability to retain existing and attract new clients. Moreover, we could be adversely affected if we fail to adequately plan for the succession of members of our senior management team. Across all of our businesses, our colleagues are critical to developing and retaining client relationships as well as performing the services on which our revenues are earned. It is therefore important for us to attract, incentivize and retain significant revenue-producing employees and the key managerial and other professionals who support them. We face numerous challenges in this regard, including the intense competition for talent, the general mobility of colleagues and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Losing colleagues who manage or support substantial client relationships or possess substantial experience or expertise could adversely affect our ability to secure and complete client engagements, which could adversely affect our results of operations. And, subject to applicable enforceable restrictive covenants, if a key employee were to join an existing competitor or form a competing company, some of our clients could choose to use the services of that competitor instead of our services. Failure to maintain our corporate culture could damage our reputation. We strive to foster a culture in which our colleagues act with integrity and feel comfortable speaking up about potential misconduct. We are a people business, and our ability to attract and retain colleagues and clients is dependent upon our commitment to a diverse and inclusive workplace, trustworthiness, ethical business practices and other qualities. Our colleagues are the cornerstone of this culture, and acts of misconduct by any colleague, and particularly by senior management, could erode trust and confidence and damage our reputation among existing and potential clients and other stakeholders. Increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from investors, clients and our colleagues with respect to our environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices may impose additional costs on us or expose us to new or additional risks. There is increased focus, including from governmental organizations, investors, colleagues and clients, on ESG issues such as environmental stewardship, climate change, diversity and inclusion, racial justice and workplace conduct. Negative public perception, adverse publicity or negative comments in social media could damage our reputation if we do not, or are not perceived to, adequately address these issues. Any harm to our reputation could impact colleague engagement and retention and the willingness of clients and our partners to do business with us. Moreover, as we work to align with the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, (TCFD), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), and our own ESG assessments and priorities, we expect to expand our public disclosures in these areas, including providing additional metrics. These metrics, whether it be the standards we set for ourselves or a failure to meet these metrics, and any failure to achieve progress on our metrics on a timely basis, or at all, may negatively impact our reputation and our business. In addition, organizations that provide information to investors on corporate governance and related matters have developed ratings processes for evaluating companies on their approach to ESG matters, and unfavorable ratings of our company or our industries may lead to negative investor sentiment and the diversion of investment to other companies or industries. We face significant competitive pressures in each of our businesses, including from disintermediation, as our competitive landscape continues to evolve. As a global professional services firm, the Company faces competition in each of its businesses, and the competitive landscape continues to change and evolve. Our ability to compete successfully depends on a variety of factors, including the quality and expertise of our colleagues, our geographic reach, the sophistication and quality of our services, our pricing relative to competitors, our clients’ ability to self-insure or use internal resources instead of consultants, and our ability to respond to changes in client demand and industry conditions. Some of our competitors may have greater financial resources, or may be better positioned to respond to technological and other changes in the industries we serve, and they may be able to compete more effectively. If we are unable to respond successfully to the changing conditions we face, our businesses, results of operations and financial condition will be adversely impacted. Across our Risk and Insurance Services segment, we operate in a variety of markets and face different competitive landscapes. In addition to the challenges posed by capital market alternatives to traditional insurance and reinsurance, we compete against a wide range of other insurance and reinsurance brokerage and risk advisory firms that operate on a global, regional, national or local scale for both client business and employee talent. In recent years, private equity sponsors have invested tens of billions of dollars into the insurance brokerage sector, transforming existing players and creating new ones to compete with large brokers. We also compete with insurance and reinsurance companies that market and service their insurance products directly to consumers and without the assistance of brokers or other market intermediaries, and with various other companies that provide risk-related services or alternatives to traditional brokerage services, including those that rely almost exclusively on technological solutions or platforms. This competition is intensified by an often "syndicated" or "distributed" approach to the purchase of insurance and reinsurance brokerage services, where a client engages multiple brokers to service different portions of the client's account. In addition, third party capital providers have entered the insurance and reinsurance risk transfer market offering products and capital directly to our clients that serve as substitutes for traditional insurance. In our Consulting segment, we compete for business with numerous consulting firms and similar organizations, many of whom also provide, or are affiliated with firms that provide, accounting, information systems, technology and financial services. Such competitors may be able to offer more comprehensive products and services to potential clients, which may give them a competitive advantage. In addition, companies in the industries that we serve may seek to achieve economies of scale and other synergies by combining with or acquiring other companies. If two or more of our current clients merge, or consolidate or combine their operations, it may decrease the amount of work that we perform for these clients. We rely on a large number of vendors and other third parties to perform key functions of our business operations and to provide services to our clients. These vendors and third parties may act in ways that could harm our business. We rely on a large number of vendors and other third parties, and in some cases subcontractors, to provide services, data and information such as technology, information security, funds transfers, business process management, and administration and support functions that are critical to the operations of our business. These third parties include correspondents, agents and other brokers and intermediaries, insurance markets, data providers, plan trustees, payroll service providers, software and system vendors, health plan providers, investment managers, risk modeling providers, and providers of human resource functions, such as recruiters. Many of these providers are located outside the U.S., which exposes us to business disruptions and political risks inherent when conducting business outside of the U.S. As we do not fully control the actions of these third parties, we are subject to the risk that their decisions or operations may adversely impact us and replacing these service providers could create significant delay in services or operations and additional expense. A failure by the third parties to (i) comply with service level agreements in a high quality and timely manner, particularly during periods of our peak demand for their services, (ii) maintain adequate internal controls that may impact our own financial reporting, or (iii) adequately maintain the confidentiality of any of our data or trade secrets or adequately protect or properly use other intellectual property to which they may have access, could result in economic and reputational harm to us. These third parties also face their own technology, operating, business and economic risks, and any significant failures by them, including the improper use or disclosure of our confidential client, employee, or Company information or failure to comply with applicable law, could cause harm to our reputation or otherwise expose us to liability. An interruption in or the cessation of service by any service provider as a result of systems failures, capacity constraints, non-compliance with legal, regulatory or contractual obligations, financial difficulties or for any other reason could disrupt our operations, impact our ability to offer certain products and services, and result in contractual or regulatory penalties, liability claims from clients or employees, damage to our reputation and harm to our business. Business Resiliency Risks Our inability to successfully recover should we experience a disaster or other business continuity or data recovery problem could cause material financial loss, loss of human capital, regulatory actions, reputational harm or legal liability. If we experience a local or regional disaster or other business continuity event, such as an earthquake, hurricane, flood, terrorist attack, pandemic, protests or riots, security breach, cyberattack (including manipulating the control systems of critical infrastructure), power loss or telecommunications failure, our ability to operate will depend, in part, on the continued availability of our personnel, our office facilities and the proper functioning of our computer, telecommunication and other related systems and operations. In such an event, we could experience operational challenges that could have a material adverse effect on our business. The risk of business disruption is more pronounced in certain geographic areas, including major metropolitan centers, like New York or London, where we have significant operations and approximately 3,300 and 5,000 colleagues in those respective locations, and in certain countries and regions in which we operate that are subject to higher potential threat of terrorist attacks or military conflicts. Our operations depend in particular upon our ability to protect our technology infrastructure against damage. If a business continuity event occurs, we could lose client or Company data or experience interruptions to our operations or delivery of services to our clients, which could have a material adverse effect. Such risks have increased significantly due to extended remote work accommodations as a result of COVID-19. A cyberattack or other business continuity event affecting us or a key vendor or other third party could result in a significant and extended disruption in the functioning of our information technology systems or operations or our ability to recover data, requiring us to incur significant expense to address and remediate or otherwise resolve such issues. For example, hackers have increasingly targeted companies by attacking internet-connected industrial control and safety control systems. An extended outage could result in the loss of clients and a decline in our revenues. In the worst case, any manipulation of the control systems of critical infrastructure may even result in the loss of life. We regularly assess and take steps to improve our existing business continuity, disaster recovery and data recovery plans and key management succession. However, a disaster or other continuity event on a significant scale or affecting certain of our key operating areas within or across regions, or our inability to successfully recover from such an event, could materially interrupt our business operations and result in material financial loss, loss of human capital, regulatory actions, reputational harm, damaged client relationships and legal liability. Our business disruption insurance may also not fully cover, in type or amount, the cost of a successful recovery in the event of such a disruption. Acquisitions and Dispositions Risks We face risks when we acquire businesses. We have a history of making acquisitions and investments, including a total of 132 in the period from 2013 to 2020. We may not be able to successfully integrate the businesses that we acquire into our own business, or achieve any expected cost savings or synergies from the integration of such businesses. Subject to standard contractual protections, we may also be responsible for legacy liabilities of companies that we acquire. For example, upon the consummation of the acquisition of JLT, the Company assumed the legal liabilities and became responsible for JLT’s litigation and regulatory exposures as of April 1, 2019. In addition, if in the future the performance of our reporting units or an acquired business varies from our projections or assumptions, or estimates about future profitability of our reporting units or an acquired business change, the estimated fair value of our reporting units or an acquired business could change materially and could result in an impairment of goodwill and other acquisition-related intangible assets recorded on our balance sheet or in adjustments in contingent payment amounts. Given the significant size of the Company's goodwill and intangible assets, an impairment could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in any given period. We expect that acquisitions will continue to be a key part of our business strategy. Our success in this regard will depend on our ability to identify and compete for appropriate acquisition candidates and to finance and complete the transactions we decide to pursue on favorable terms with positive results. When we dispose of businesses, we may continue to be subject to certain liabilities of that business after its disposition relating to the prior period of our ownership and may not be able to negotiate for limitations on those liabilities. We are also subject to the risk that the sales price is less than the amount reflected on our balance sheet. Financial Risks If we are unable to collect our receivables, our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected. Our business depends on our ability to obtain payment from our clients of the amounts they owe us for the work we perform. As of December 31, 2020, our receivables for our commissions and fees were approximately $4.7 billion, or approximately one-quarter of our total annual revenues, and portions of our receivables are increasingly concentrated in certain businesses and geographies. Macroeconomic or political conditions, such as the impact from COVID-19, could result in financial difficulties for our clients, which could cause clients to delay payments to us, request modifications to their payment arrangements that could increase our receivables balance or default on their payment obligations to us. We may not be able to obtain sufficient financing on favorable terms. The maintenance and growth of our business, including our ability to finance acquisitions, the payment of dividends and our ability to make share repurchases rely on our access to capital, which depends in large part on cash flow generated by our business and the availability of equity and debt financing. Certain of our businesses such as GC Securities, a division of MMC Securities, LLC and MMC Securities (Europe) Limited also rely on financings by the Company to fund the underwriting of their client's debt and equity capital raising transactions. We incurred significant debt to finance the JLT Transaction, and there can be no assurance that our operations will generate sufficient positive cash flow to finance all of our capital needs or that we will be able to obtain equity or debt financing on favorable terms. In addition, our ability to obtain financing will depend in part upon prevailing conditions in credit and capital markets, which are beyond our control. Our defined benefit pension plan obligations could cause the Company's financial position, earnings and cash flows to fluctuate. Our defined benefit pension obligations and the assets set aside to fund those obligations are sensitive to certain changes in the financial markets. Any such changes may result in increased pension expense or additional cash payments to fund these plans. The Company has significant defined benefit pension obligations to its current and former employees, including obligations assumed as part of the JLT Transaction, totaling approximately $19.9 billion, and related plan assets of approximately $19.1 billion, at December 31, 2020 on a U.S. GAAP basis. As part of the JLT Transaction, the Company assumed responsibility for a number of pension plans throughout the world, with $305 million of net pension liabilities as of December 31, 2020 ($1,124 million in liabilities and $819 million of plan assets as of December 31, 2020). The Company's policy for funding its defined benefit pension plans is to contribute amounts at least sufficient to meet the funding requirements set forth by law. In the United States, contributions to these plans are based on ERISA guidelines. Outside the United States, contributions are generally based on statutory requirements and local funding practices, which may differ from measurements under U.S. GAAP. In the U.K., for example, the assumptions used to determine pension contributions are the result of legally-prescribed negotiations between the Company and the plans' trustees. Currently, the use of these assumptions results in a lower funded status than determined under U.S. GAAP and may result in contributions irrespective of the U.S. GAAP funded status. The financial calculations relating to our defined benefit pension plans are complex. Pension plan assets could decrease as the result of poor future asset performance. In addition, the estimated return on plan assets would likely be impacted by changes in the interest rate environment and other factors, including equity valuations, since these factors reflect the starting point used in the Company’s projection models. For example a reduction in interest rates may result in a reduction in the estimated return on plan assets. Also, pension plan liabilities, periodic pension expense and future funding amounts could increase as a result of a decline in the interest rates we use to discount our pension liabilities, longer lifespans than those reflected in our mortality assumptions, changes in investment markets that result in lower expected returns on assets, actual investment return that is less than the expected return on assets, adverse changes in laws or regulations and other variables. While we have taken steps to mitigate the impact of pension volatility on our earnings and cash funding requirements, these strategies may not be successful. Accordingly, given the magnitude of our worldwide pension plans, variations in or reassessment of the preceding or other factors or potential miscalculations relating to our defined benefit pension plans could cause significant fluctuation from year to year in our earnings and cash flow, as well as our pension plan assets, liabilities and equity, and may result in increased levels of contributions to our pension plans. Our significant non-U.S. operations expose us to exchange rate fluctuations and various risks that could impact our business. Approximately 53% of our total revenue reported in 2020 was from business outside of the United States. We are subject to exchange rate movement because we must translate the financial results of our foreign subsidiaries into U.S. dollars and also because some of our subsidiaries receive revenue other than in their functional currencies. Exchange rate movements may change over time, and they could have a material adverse impact on our financial results and cash flows reported in U.S. dollars. For additional discussion, see "Market Risk and Credit Risk-Foreign Currency Risk" in Part II, Item 7A ("Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk") of this report. Our quarterly revenues and profitability may fluctuate significantly. Quarterly variations in revenues and operating results may occur due to several factors. These include: •the number of client engagements during a quarter; •the possibility that clients may decide to delay or terminate a current or anticipated project as a result of factors unrelated to our work product or progress; •fluctuations in hiring and utilization rates and clients' ability to terminate engagements without penalty; •potential limitations on the clients or industries we serve resulting from increased regulation or changing stakeholder expectations on ESG issues; •the impact of changes in accounting standards or in our accounting estimates or assumptions; •the impact on us or our clients of changes in legislation, regulation and legal guidance or interpretations in the jurisdictions in which we operate, in particular in the U.S. as a result of the change in presidential administrations; •seasonality due to the impact of regulatory deadlines, policy renewals and other timing factors to which our clients are subject; •the success of our acquisitions or investments; •macroeconomic factors such as changes in foreign exchange rates, interest rates and global securities markets, particularly in the case of Mercer, where fees in its investments business and certain other business lines are derived from the value of assets under management or administration; and •general economic conditions, including factors beyond our control affecting economic conditions such as COVID-19 and other global health crisis or pandemics, severe weather, climate change, geopolitical unrest such as protests and riots or other catastrophic events, since our results of operations are directly affected by the levels of business activity of our clients, which in turn are affected by the level of economic activity in the industries and markets that they serve. A significant portion of our total operating expenses is relatively fixed in the short term. Therefore, a variation in the number of client assignments or in the timing of the initiation or the completion of client assignments can cause significant variations in quarterly operating results for these businesses. Credit rating downgrades would increase our financing costs and could subject us to operational risk. Currently, the Company's senior debt is rated A- by S&P and Baa1 by Moody's. The Company carries a Stable outlook with S&P and a Negative outlook with Moody's. If we need to raise capital in the future (for example, in order to maintain adequate liquidity, fund maturing debt obligations or finance acquisitions or other initiatives), credit rating downgrades would increase our financing costs, and could limit our access to financing sources. We would also face the risk of a credit rating downgrade if we do not retire or refinance the debt to levels acceptable to the credit rating agencies in a timely manner. Further, a downgrade to a rating below investment-grade could result in greater operational risks through increased operating costs and increased competitive pressures. We have significantly increased our debt as a result of the JLT acquisition, which could adversely affect our financial flexibility. As of December 31, 2020, we had total consolidated debt outstanding of approximately $11.3 billion. In 2019 alone, we incurred $6.5 billion of additional debt to finance the JLT acquisition. The level of debt outstanding could adversely affect our financial flexibility by reducing our cash flows and our ability to use cash from operations for other purposes, including working capital, dividends to shareholders, share repurchases, acquisitions, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. In addition, we are subject to risks that, at the time any of our outstanding debt matures, we will not be able to retire or refinance the debt on terms that are acceptable to us. The current U.S. tax regime makes our results more difficult to predict. Our effective tax rate may fluctuate in the future as a result of the current U.S. tax regime enacted as part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "TCJA") and the continuing issuance of interpretive guidance related to the TCJA. The TCJA included significant changes in U.S. income tax law that has a meaningful impact on our provision for income taxes and requires significant judgments and estimates in interpretation and calculations. The enacted tax legislation included, among other provisions, limitations on the deductibility of net interest, a tax on Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income ("GILTI"), and the Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax ("BEAT"). Given the significant complexity of the rules, and the potential for additional guidance from U.S. Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other regulatory authorities, recognized impacts in future periods could be significantly different from our current estimates. Such uncertainty may also result in increased scrutiny from, or disagreements with, tax authorities. In addition, the change in the U.S. presidential administrations in January 2021 may increase the chance for legislative changes to the TCJA provisions. In particular, the Biden Administration has proposed changes to the U.S. statutory tax rate and GILTI which would increase the impact of the provision on our results. As a U.S.-domiciled company, any such increases would have a disproportionate impact on us compared to our foreign-based competitors. Global Operations We are exposed to multiple risks associated with the global nature of our operations. We conduct business globally. In 2020, approximately 53% of the Company's total revenue was generated from operations outside the United States, and over one-half of our employees were located outside the United States. The JLT Transaction significantly expanded our non-U.S. operations in jurisdictions such as the U.K., Asia, South America and Australia, and we expect to expand our non-U.S. operations further. The geographic breadth of our activities subjects us to significant legal, economic, operational, market, compliance and reputational risks. These include, among others, risks relating to: •economic and political conditions in the countries in which we operate; •client concentration in certain high-growth countries in which we operate; •the length of payment cycles and potential difficulties in collecting accounts receivable; •unexpected increases in taxes or changes in U.S. or foreign tax laws, rulings, policies or related legal and regulatory interpretations, including recent international initiatives to require multinational enterprises, like ours, to report profitability on a country-by-country basis, which could increase scrutiny by, or cause disagreements with, foreign tax authorities and the potential imposition of new global minimum tax; •potential transfer pricing-related tax exposures that may result from the flow of funds among our subsidiaries and affiliates in the various jurisdictions in which we operate, or permanent establishments created due to colleagues traveling to and doing work in countries where the company has no presence and which are not properly compensated through transfer pricing; •our ability to obtain dividends or repatriate funds from our non-U.S. subsidiaries, including as a result of the imposition of currency controls and other government restrictions on repatriation in the jurisdictions in which our subsidiaries operate, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and the imposition of withholding and other taxes on such payments; •potential conflicts of interest that may arise as we expand the scope of our businesses and our client base; •international hostilities, international trade disputes, terrorist activities, natural disasters, pandemics, and infrastructure disruptions; •local investment or other financial restrictions that foreign governments may impose; •potential lawsuits, investigations, market studies, reviews or other activity by foreign regulatory or law enforcement authorities or legislatively appointed commissions, which may result in potential modifications to our businesses, related private litigation or increased scrutiny from U.S. or other regulators; •potential costs and difficulties in complying with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations (including tax systems) administered by foreign government agencies, some of which may conflict with U.S. or other sources of law; •potential costs and difficulties in complying, or monitoring compliance, with foreign and U.S. laws and regulations that are applicable to our operations abroad, including trade sanctions laws relating to countries such as Cuba, Crimea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela and anti-corruption laws such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act 2010; •limitations or restrictions that foreign or U.S. governments and regulators may impose on the products or services we sell, the methods by which we sell our products and services and the manner in which and the amounts we are compensated; •potential limitations or difficulties in protecting our intellectual property in various foreign jurisdictions; •limitations that foreign governments may impose on the conversion of currency or the payment of dividends or other remittances to us from our non-U.S. subsidiaries; •engaging and relying on third parties to perform services on behalf of the Company; and •potential difficulties in monitoring employees in geographically dispersed locations. RISKS RELATING TO OUR RISK AND INSURANCE SERVICES SEGMENT Our Risk and Insurance Services segment, conducted through Marsh and Guy Carpenter, represented 60% of the Company's total revenue in 2020. Our business in this segment is subject to particular risks. Results in our Risk and Insurance Services segment may be adversely affected by a general decline in economic activity. Demand for many types of insurance and reinsurance generally rises or falls as economic growth expands or slows. This dynamic affects the level of commissions and fees generated by Marsh and Guy Carpenter. To the extent our clients become adversely affected by declining business conditions, they may choose to limit their purchases of insurance and reinsurance coverage, as applicable, which would inhibit our ability to generate commission revenue and other revenue based on premiums placed by us. Also, the insurance they seek to obtain through us may be impacted by changes in their assets, property values, sales or number of employees, which may reduce our commission revenue, and they may decide not to purchase our risk advisory or other services, which would inhibit our ability to generate fee revenue. Moreover, insolvencies and combinations associated with an economic downturn, especially insolvencies and combinations in the insurance industry, could adversely affect our brokerage business through the loss of clients or by limiting our ability to place insurance and reinsurance business, as well as our revenues from insurers. Guy Carpenter is especially susceptible to this risk given the limited number of insurance company clients and reinsurers in the marketplace. Volatility or declines in premiums and other market trends may significantly impede our ability to grow revenues and profitability. A significant portion of our Risk and Insurance Services revenue consists of commissions paid to us out of the premiums that insurers and reinsurers charge our clients for coverage. We do not determine the insurance premiums on which our commissions are generally based. Our revenues and profitability are subject to change to the extent that premium rates fluctuate or trend in a particular direction. The potential for changes in premium rates is significant, due to the normal cycles of pricing in the commercial insurance and reinsurance markets. As traditional insurance companies continue to rely on non-affiliated brokers or agents to generate premium, those insurance companies may seek to reduce their expenses by lowering their commission rates. The reduction of these commission rates, along with general volatility or declines in premiums, may significantly affect our revenue and profitability. Because we do not determine the timing or extent of premium pricing changes, it is difficult to accurately forecast our commission revenues, including whether they will significantly decline. As a result, we may have to adjust our plans for future acquisitions, capital expenditures, dividend payments, loan repayments and other expenditures to account for unexpected changes in revenues, and any decreases in premium rates may adversely affect the results of our operations. In addition to movements in premium rates, our ability to generate premium-based commission revenue may be challenged by disintermediation and the growing availability of alternative methods for clients to meet their risk-protection needs. This trend includes a greater willingness on the part of corporations to self-insure, the use of captive insurers, and the presence of capital markets-based solutions for traditional insurance and reinsurance needs. Further, the profitability of our Risk and Insurances Services segment depends in part on our ability to be compensated for the analytical services and other advice that we provide, including the consulting and analytics services that we provide to insurers. If we are unable to achieve and maintain adequate billing rates for all of our services, our margins and profitability could decline. Adverse legal developments and future regulations concerning how intermediaries are compensated by insurers or clients, as well as allegations of anti-competitive behavior or conflicts of interest more broadly, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The ways in which insurance intermediaries are compensated receive scrutiny from regulators in part because of the potential for anti-competitive behavior and conflicts of interest. The vast majority of the compensation that Marsh receives is in the form of retail fees and commissions that are paid by the client or paid from premium that is paid by the client. The amount of other compensation that we receive from insurance companies, separate from retail fees and commissions, has increased in the last several years, both on an underlying basis and through acquisition and represented approximately 5% of Marsh's revenue in 2020. This other compensation includes payment for (i) consulting and analytics services provided to insurers; (ii) administrative and other services provided to insurers (including services relating to the administration and management of quota shares, panels and other facilities); and (iii) contingent commissions, primarily at MMA and outside the U.S., paid by insurers based on factors such as volume or profitability. These other revenue streams present potential regulatory, litigation and reputational risks that may arise from alleged anti-competitive behavior or conflicts of interest, (including those arising from Guy Carpenter’s role as intermediary and advisor for insurance companies), and future changes in the regulatory environment may impact our ability to collect such revenue. Adverse regulatory, legal or other developments could have a material adverse effect on our business and expose the Company to negative publicity and reputational harm. RISKS RELATING TO OUR CONSULTING SEGMENT Our Consulting segment, conducted through Mercer and Oliver Wyman Group, represented 40% of our total revenue in 2020. Our businesses in this segment are subject to particular risks. Mercer’s Investments business is subject to a number of risks, including risks related to third-party investment managers, operational risk, conflicts of interest, asset performance and regulatory compliance, that, if realized, could result in significant damage to our business. Mercer’s Investments business provides clients with investment consulting and investment management services. As of December 31, 2020, Mercer and its global affiliates had assets under management of approximately $357 billion worldwide. In the investment consulting business, clients make and implement their own investment decisions based upon research prepared or advice provided by Mercer. In its investment management business, Mercer implements the client’s investment policy by engaging, overseeing and making changes to the third-party asset managers who determine which investments to buy and sell. To effect implementation of a client’s investment policy, Mercer may utilize its "manager of managers" investment funds. Mercer’s Investments business is subject to a number of risks, including risks related to litigation, third-parties, our operations, conflicts of interest, asset performance and regulatory compliance and scrutiny, which could arise in connection with these offerings. For example, Mercer’s manager research or due diligence on an asset manager may fail to uncover material deficiencies or fraud that could result in investment losses to a client. There is a risk that Mercer will fail to properly implement a client’s investment policy or direction, which could cause an incorrect or untimely allocation of client assets among asset managers or strategies. Mercer may also be perceived as recommending certain asset managers to clients, or offering delegated solutions to an investment consulting client, solely to enhance its own compensation. Asset classes may perform poorly, or asset managers may underperform their benchmarks, due to poor market performance, a downturn in the global equity markets, negligence or other reasons, resulting in poor returns or loss of client capital. Changes in the value levels of equity, debt, real assets, commodities, foreign exchange or other asset markets, in particular as a result of a downturn in the global markets, may cause our assets under management, revenue and earnings to decline. These risks, if realized, could result in significant liability and damage our business. Revenues for the services provided by our Consulting segment may decline for various reasons, including as a result of changes in economic conditions, the value of equity, debt and other asset classes, our clients’ or an industry's financial condition or government regulation or an accelerated trend away from actively managed investments to passively managed investments. Global economic conditions, particularly the impact of COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses and financial institutions. Many of our clients, including financial institutions, corporations, government entities and pension plans, have reduced expenses, including amounts spent on consulting services, and used internal resources instead of consultants during difficult economic periods. The evolving needs and financial circumstances of our clients may reduce demand for our consulting services and could adversely affect our revenues and profitability. If the economy or markets in which we operate experience weakness or deteriorate, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, some of Mercer's Investments business generate fees based upon the value of the clients’ assets under management or advisement. Changes in the value of equity, debt, currency, real estate, commodities or other asset classes could cause the value of assets under management or advisement, and the fees received by Mercer, to decline. Such changes could also cause clients to withdraw funds from Mercer’s Investments business in favor of other investment service providers. In either case, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Mercer’s Investments business also could be adversely affected by an accelerated shift away from actively managed investments to passively managed investments with associated lower fees. Further, revenue received by Mercer as investment manager to the majority of the Mercer-managed investment funds is reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP on a gross basis rather than a net basis, with sub-advisor fees reflected as an expense. Therefore, the reported revenue for these offerings does not fully reflect the amount of net revenue ultimately attributable to Mercer. Demand for many of Mercer's benefits services is affected by government regulation and tax laws, rulings, policies and interpretations, which drive our clients' needs for benefits-related services. Significant changes in government regulations affecting the value, use or delivery of benefits and human resources programs, including changes in regulations relating to health and welfare plans, defined contribution plans or defined benefit plans, may adversely affect the demand for or profitability of Mercer's services. Factors affecting defined benefit pension plans and the services we provide relating to those plans could adversely affect Mercer. Mercer currently provides corporate trustees, multi-employer and public clients with actuarial, consulting and administration services relating to defined benefit pension plans. The nature of our work is complex. Many clients, particularly in the public sector, have sizeable pension deficits and are subject to impact from volatility in the global stock markets and interest rate fluctuations. A number of Mercer's clients have frozen or curtailed their defined benefit plans and have moved to defined contribution plans resulting in reduced revenue for Mercer's retirement business. These developments and a continued or accelerated rate of decline in revenues for our defined benefit pension plans business could adversely affect Mercer's business and operating results. In addition, our actuarial services involve numerous assumptions and estimates regarding future events, including interest rates used to discount future liabilities, estimated rates of return for a plan's assets, healthcare cost trends, salary projections and participants' life expectancies. Our consulting services involve the drafting and interpretation of trust deeds and other complex documentation governing pension plans. Our administration services include calculating benefits within complicated pension plan structures. Our investments services include investment advice and management relating to defined benefit pension plan assets intended to fund present and future benefit obligations. Clients dissatisfied with our services have brought, and may bring, significant claims against us, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. The profitability of our Consulting segment may decline if we are unable to achieve or maintain adequate utilization and pricing rates for our consultants. The profitability of our Consulting businesses depends in part on ensuring that our consultants maintain adequate utilization rates (i.e., the percentage of our consultants' working hours devoted to billable activities). Our utilization rates are affected by a number of factors, including: •our ability to transition consultants promptly from completed projects to new assignments, and to engage newly-hired consultants quickly in revenue-generating activities; •our ability to continually secure new business engagements, particularly because a portion of our work is project-based rather than recurring in nature; •our ability to forecast demand for our services and thereby maintain appropriate headcount in each of our geographies and workforces; •our ability to retain key colleagues and consulting professionals; •unanticipated changes in the scope of client engagements; •the potential for conflicts of interest that might require us to decline client engagements that we otherwise would have accepted; •our need to devote time and resources to sales, training, professional development and other non-billable activities; •the potential disruptive impact of acquisitions and dispositions; and •general economic conditions. If the utilization rate for our consulting professionals declines, our profit margin and profitability could decline. In addition, the profitability of our Consulting businesses depends in part on the prices we are able to charge for our services. The prices we charge are affected by a number of factors, including: •clients' perception of our ability to add value through our services; •market demand for the services we provide; •our ability to develop new services and the introduction of new services by competitors; •the pricing policies of our competitors; •the extent to which our clients develop in-house or other capabilities to perform the services that they might otherwise purchase from us; and •general economic conditions. If we are unable to achieve and maintain adequate billing rates for our services, our profit margin and profitability could decline. Item 1B.