QSuper CIO to Depart Next September | Chief Investment Officer

Brad Holzberger

The chief investment officer of Australia’s A$80 billion ($57.7 billion) superannuation fund has announced plans to retire next September.

Brad Holzberger will leave after he completes a decade as the QSuper’s CIO. He called his time there “a privilege,” but also said that “much remains to be done” to keep improving on and adapting to global markets and their ever-evolving landscape.

One of the departing chief’s accomplishments during his tenure was to help develop Australia’s first two-dimensional lifecycle fund, known as the QSuper Lifetime. Unlike regular target-date funds, QSuper’s product reassess a participant’s situation twice a year instead of annually. If things have changed, the member will be moved into another strategy contained in one of the lifecycle’s eight investment groups.

Holzberger was a director of the Association of Superannuation Fund Australia from 2011 to 2017, and also chaired the organization’s economics and investment policy council. For his dedication, the group awarded him with a lifetime membership for his contributions to the continent’s superannuation industry. There are only 29 other Australians that currently share this distinction.

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Michael Pennisi, QSuper’s chief executive officer, touted Holzberger’s leadership skills as one of his “greatest strengths.”

“His focus, and the focus of the investment team he has built, does not waiver from the hardworking Australians who trust us with their retirement savings. This will be Brad’s lasting contribution at QSuper,” he said.

QSuper has begun a global search for Holzberger’s replacement for a seamless transition.

Superannuation funds are pension plans where retirement money is pooled into a large account where money managers invest it. Employers and employees can make additional contributions to the pool if they wish.

Tags: Australia, Brad Holzberger, Pension, QSuper

David Villa

David Villa, chief investment officer of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board ($117 billion), has again expanded his duties, adding the title of executive director to his role.

Villa, who replaces Rick Smirl, has been the board’s CIO since 2006. He is most known for bringing many of the Wisconsin Retirement System’s $109.5 billion in assets under internal management. This cost-minded strategy has saved the fund millions over the years.

Villa placed 17^th on CIO’s 2017 Power 100 list, which annually highlights the best in the asset owner industry.

Smirl left the investment board in July to become chief operating officer of Russell Investments. Rochelle Klaskin, the board’s chief legal counsel, had been the interim executive director since then. She will now become the deputy executive director/chief administrative officer, a new title.

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Klaskin’s old job is up for grabs.

Trustees of the board determined that merging the executive director and CIO jobs would “best fit” the organization’s pace and “the infrastructure that supports it.” Other large pension plans, such as the Florida State Board of Administration ($176.4 billion), the New York City Retirement System ($195.7 billion), and the $71.6 billion Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Board, are also led by an executive director/CIO.

Ash Williams, the head of the Florida board, was CIO’s 2017 lifetime achievement honoree at its eighth annual Innovation Awards gala.

Board of Trustees Chairman David Stein, said Villa “leads the agency’s core business, its investment management teams.” He added that the promotion “was a natural next step for SWIB.”

The organization consists of the Wisconsin Retirement System and six separately managed trust funds. It is one of the few fully funded public pension plans in the country.

Villa could not be reached for comment.

Tags: CIO, David Villa, Pension, Rochelle Klaskin, State of Wisconsin Investment Board