AustralianSuper has made a series of appointments in its UK office as the fund prepares to grow to $500 billion.
AustralianSuper has made a series of appointments in its London office, including a new Head of Investments and Head of Strategy for its European portfolios.
The fund has appointed Carl Astorri as its new Head of Investments, Europe. Astorri had been working in AustralianSuper’s Melbourne office since 2015, where he led the asset allocation and research team and was responsible for asset allocation, equity strategy and macroeconomic research.
Before joining AustralianSuper, Astorri worked as Global Head of Economics and Asset Strategy at Coutts & Co, Head of Investment Strategy at Barclays Wealth and an economist at the Bank of England.
In his new role, Astorri is responsible for building and leading the fund’s London-based investment team as it expands its public and private markets capability, the fund said.
With capabilities now in place across private, public and capital markets, the London office is now an important investment engine for the fund
AustralianSuper also appointed John Normand as Head of Investment Strategy. Normand will join the fund in late August, after 24 years at J.P. Morgan, where he was most recently Head of Cross-Asset Strategy. At AustralianSuper he will lead the asset allocation research team that drives investment strategy across all major asset classes.
AustralianSuper opened its UK office seven years ago and expects it will play a pivotal role in the future growth of the fund. AustralianSuper currently has about $40 billion of its total $300 billion in funds under management invested in the UK and Europe.
The fund expects to grow to more than$500 billion over the next five years and will invest almost 70 per cent of its growing inflows into global markets going forward.
“With capabilities now in place across private, public and capital markets, the London office is now an important investment engine for the fund,” Damian Moloney, Deputy Chief Investment Officer at AustralianSuper said.
“We’re building a high-calibre and experienced team in London to ensure the fund is strategically positioned in a market that will create many opportunities to generate excellent long-term returns for members,” he said.
The fund also appointed Sujay Shah as Head of Internal Government Portfolios. Shah will manage the fund’s government bond portfolios and team, across the UK and Australian offices. He joined AustralianSuper at the end of 2022 from Tesco Pension Fund.
In addition, AustralianSuper appointed Deborah Gilshan as Head of ESG and Stewardship, Europe. Gilshan has worked in previous stewardship roles at a number of large institutional investors, including Railpen, Aberdeen Standard Investments and the UK’s Co-operative Insurance Society.
For the last four years, she has provided independent advisory services on investment stewardship, ESG integration and diversity to clients across the investment industry. Gilshan is the founder of The 100% Club, an organisation that promotes gender, which she established in 2011.
At AustralianSuper, Gilshan will oversee the fund’s ESG and stewardship programs in public and private markets in Europe, including interacting with stakeholders, regulators and industry bodies.
Finally, AustralianSuper has appointed William Manfield as Head of Group Risk, International, and he joins AustralianSuper from BNP Paribas Asset Management.
At AustralianSuper, he is responsible for the strategic direction of the risk and compliance function in the international offices and ensuring alignment to local regulatory requirements.
__________
[i3] Insights is the official educational bulletin of the Investment Innovation Institute [i3]. It covers major trends and innovations in institutional investing, providing independent and thought-provoking content about pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds across the globe.