Sun Sets on Super CEO | Chief Investment Officer

(August 2, 2013) – Tony Lally, the Sunsuper chief executive, has decided to step down from his position after six years of service.

Lally is believed to want to pursue a career as non-executive director. Bruce Wilson, the current chief financial officer, has been appointed interim chief executive until a replacement is announced.

“We will be looking for a new chief executive internally and externally, but we aren’t in a great rush. We want to make sure that we appoint another great CEO,” Sunsuper Chairman Graham Heilbronn told Financial Standard.

Heilbronn added that Lally’s departure had not been a surprise for executives at the super, and that he understood why Lally wanted to move on.

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Lally started his tenure as Sunsuper chief executive in April 2007, and has overseen funds under management growing from A$11 billion to A$24 billion today.

Sunsuper was also named Super Fund of the Year in 2012 and 2013, and Pension of the Year in 2009, 2010, and 2011 by SuperRatings and Money magazine under Lally’s reign.

A keen cyclist, having represented Australia in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Lally will continue to support Sunsuper through fulfilling key roles at the Sydney and Perth Ride to Conquer Cancer events, according to SuperReview.

(August 2, 2013) – Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are increasing their exposure to direct investments in real assets, according to data from the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute.

In the last half of 2012, $600 billion worth of transactions were made by SWFs, with European and US commercial property among the most popular purchases. The report also found the push towards direct investment had been driven by the trend of bringing investment decisions in-house.

Bringing assets in-house has become more popular in 2012 and 2013. In May, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) brought five percentage points of its considerable assets under its internal investment team, resulting in 25% of its assets now being managed internally, up from 20% a year earlier.

European core real estate accounted for $9.26 billion of the $600 billion total, up from $7.13 billion invested during the second half of 2011.

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SWFs also spent substantial amounts of money on investing in US commercial property, the report said. This included a $1.2 billion deal for five properties in the US, where the Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global paid $600 million for a 49.9% share, and TIAA-CREF picked up the remaining 51.1%.

Developmental real estate proved to be attractive, particularly with Gulf-based SWFs. Two large US developments—Hudson Yards and CityCenterDC—were highlighted by the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute as developments assisted by SWF investments.

Energy and utility investments were also popular, particularly in the first half of 2012. Singapore’s Temasek invested $7.53 billion in KrisEnergy, and Norway’s SWF bought 3% of BASF SE, the world’s largest chemical company, at the end of June last year.

Infrastructure deals typically take longer to complete, but there was evidence of rising interest in Australian assets. ADIA was part of a consortium which included Industry Funds Management, Australian Super, and QSuper to buy the lease on Port Botany and Port Kembia for AU$5.07 billion in May this year.

The full report can be read here.