AustralianSuper will double the money it currently has invested in private equity over the next two years
AustralianSuper has committed to doubling its allocation to private equity from $13 billion to $26 billion by 2024, as part of a broader strategy to increase its holdings in unlisted assets.
Of the new money, $9.5 billion will be invested in the US, where the fund is targeting the healthcare, technology, industrials, consumer and financial sectors.
Although the commitment sees AustralianSuper double its allocation in absolute terms, the relative allocation as a percentage of the fund’s total assets is expected to grow only by 2 per cent, from 5 to 7 per cent over the next two years.
This is largely the result of the fund’s continued rapid growth. AustralianSuper is believed to have $1 billion in net contributions coming in every month.
AustralianSuper’s private equity portfolio is expected to be $50 billion within five years.
“Not only can we act quickly and deploy large amounts of capital, but we can also bring considerable value to the process by leveraging the deep sector expertise of a 70-person strong global listed equities capability that manages over $143 billion,” Terry Charalambous, Head of Private Equity at AustralianSuper, said.
To help implement the fund’s strategy, our US based private equity team will grow to 20 members in the next few years, focused on strengthening relationships with well-aligned investment partners and sourcing compelling long-term investment opportunities
“To help implement the fund’s strategy, our US based private equity team will grow to 20 members in the next few years, focused on strengthening relationships with well-aligned investment partners and sourcing compelling long-term investment opportunities,’ Charalambous said.
“This is a really exciting time for the fund as we continue to grow our world-class investment team, with high-calibre investment professionals attracted to our size, scale and purpose-driven culture.”
Charalambous said AustralianSuper will invest in general partner (GP) funds, alongside GPs in co-investment and in co-underwriting opportunities.
“Not only do we bring a large pool of long-term capital, but we also have processes that align with the cadence of private equity transactions and can assess and act on opportunities very quickly,” he said.
AustralianSuper started co-underwriting in 2018 and has worked with preferred GPs to deploy $3 billion in co-underwrite transactions and co-investments over the past 18 months across 10 transactions globally, the fund said.
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