The A$341 billion ($233.62 billion) AustralianSuper superannuation fund is expanding its New York office, relocating two senior executives and adding four new senior staffers, the fund announced Thursday.
The staffing changes are part of the fund’s expansion plans to take advantage of investment opportunities in the U.S., such as private markets. The fund currently has 60 staff based in the country, with plans to more than double that number by 2026.
“This enhanced capability in North America will allow the Fund to target further opportunities to generate excellent returns for members in the region,” said Damian Moloney, deputy CIO of AustralianSuper, in a statement.
Nick Ward, who has been at AustralianSuper since 2011, most recently as head of private credit, will relocate to New York from Melbourne. Mikaël Limpalaër, the fund’s new head of the Americas, moves to New York from London after leading AustralianSuper’s private credit team in Europe.
Fresh appointments include Maria Reed, previously managing director and head of technology transformation at BlackRock, who will join AustralianSuper as head of fund services for the Americas.
Damien Mitchell joins AustralianSuper as a senior investment director of real assets and was previously first vice president of investments at real assets investment manager CIM Group.
Andrew Osborne, formerly head of strategy for real estate and infrastructure at Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, joins AustralianSuper as senior investment director of real assets.
Finally, Matthew Choi will join AustralianSuper as senior investment director of private credit; he was previously a director at Granite Point Mortgage Trust and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University.
The fund manages A$102 billion assets across North America, nearly 30% of the fund’s total assets, with A$28 billion invested in U.S. private markets alone.
“The region is of great strategic importance to the Fund and a hub for our private markets investment activity,” Moloney said.
The fund plans to grow its total assets under management to A$500 million within the next five years, according to a news release. It also expects to invest 70% of these new inflows to global markets and, by 2030, expects 70% of assets to be internally managed.
The fund returned 8.46% in the one-year period ending June 30 and has returned 4.51%, 6.68% and 8.07% annualized for the past three-, five- and 10-year periods, respectively.
“The strengthening of our senior team in New York City reflects our commitment to building a best-in-class investment platform in the U.S. across real assets, private credit and private equity, with the aim of delivering sustainable long-term performance for more than 3.4 million members,” Moloney said.
 Mikaël Limpalaër |  Maria Reed | |
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Tags: Andrew Osborne, Australia, Australiansuper, Damian Moloney, Damien Mitchell, Maria Reed, Matthew Choi, Mikaël Limpalaër, Nick Ward, Superannuation