The former head of alternatives at Sunsuper, has left the fund to take a role at the University of Virginia Endowment Fund, and his role at Sunsuper has been split in three.
Michael Aked, who joined Sunsuper in February 2006, took the role of director of public equities at the University of Virginia Investment Management Company (UVIMCO) in July where he has responsibility for both the absolute return strategies and the credit portfolios. At UVIMCO, which is ranked among the five largest endowments of public institutions in the US with about $US4.3 billion, Aked reports to chief executive, Christopher Brightman, who also acts as chief investment officer. At Sunsuper, Aked’s previous role as head of alternatives has been split with former Sunsuper strategist, Corrin Collocot, taking on the private equity responsibilities. Sue Berman has been hired in a role covering alternative strategies and debt, and a third person will be hired to manage property and infrastructure. Chief investment officer of Sunsuper, David Hartley, said Sunsuper was also considering appointing assistant portfolio managers for the investment team of six. “;At the moment we have portfolio managers and then use consultants to do things like analytics but we are considering hiring more staff,”; he said. The $13 billion Sunsuper has a target asset allocation of about 20 per cent to property and alternative assets, but Hartley said there was a strategic asset allocation due to be finalised at the next investment committee meeting in October, which could see that change. In other news, Sunsuper has entered into a merger implementation agreement with Colonial First State Private Capital (code CFI on the ASX) to acquire all of its shares by way of a scheme of arrangement. Sunsuper will pay 85.8 cents in cash for every CFI share valuing the company at $116.32 million. If the acquisition is approved by shareholders at a meeting in November the company will be de-listed. CFI’s investments include Brisbane and Perth airports as well as Somerton Pipelines and Country Pipelines.
The $355 billion AustralianSuper has acquired a $1.4 billion European industrial and logistics portfolio, owned by OMERS real estate subsidiary Oxford Properties. The nation’s biggest fund is targeting a $7.5 billion valuation for the venture and $35 billion allocation in European and UK region before 2030, supported by its biggest international office in London with 121 employees.
Darcy SongJanuary 14, 2025
