(June 7, 2013) — British Airways Pension Investment Management is to lose its head of alternatives five years after she joined to set up the portfolio.
Bev Durston, one of aiCIO‘s Power 100, is to return to Australia in a couple of months’ time, but will leave the pension fund at the end of June, we have learned.
There will be no direct replacement for the alternatives allocation of the £25 billion fund, but Durston will hand over the reins to recent hire Alexander Schoenfeldt, who joined the pension fund investor as portfolio manager in December.
Since 2008, the alternatives portfolio has made an annualised 16% return, with 6% volatility. It has been allocated across various asset classes that make up the sector.
In a note to industry contacts and external providers, Durston said was confident the 24 appointed funds were in good shape, and she left BA pensions with an excellent pipeline of new ideas.
Last year, Durston told aiCIO: “I have worked on risk across all asset classes, and investing in such a diverse range of alternative assets draws upon all of these skills. We can be very opportunistic and investigate any type of investment-infrastructure, distressed debt, timber-anything that is not listed equities or investment grade bonds, but I focus on strategies with a capital protection bias.”
UK-born Durston relocated to Australia 20 years ago before returning to the UK in 2008.
In the Asia-Pacific region, she worked at various Australian superannuation funds and the Government Investment Company of Singapore.
Requests to comments from BA Pension Investment Management were not answered before going to press.
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