Non-Government Schools Super will lose investments manager Joanne Townsend at the end of the month, when she moves to a senior investments role at one of Australia’s largest industry funds.
Townsend will leave the $3 billion NGS Super after joining from Tasmania’s RBF Fund a little over a year ago. She has taken a senior investment role at the $15 billion REST Super, reporting directly to chief executive Damian Hill. The acting chief executive of NGS Super, John McCrory, confirmed Townsend had “;accepted an offer and an opportunity too good to refuse from a much larger fund…As much as I regret Jo’s departure at this time I wish her well.”; He said interim arrangements were being put in place to cover internal requirements while a replacement was appointed. Tim Hughes, who will continue as a senior investment adviser to NGS Super, said the departure of Townsend so soon after that of former chief executive Colin McGuinness was “;completely coincidental”;. McCrory added the fund’s plans for its own financial planning licence would continue to be implemented, even while replacements for McGuinness and Townsend were sought. “;I expect the AFS Licence application to be lodged in accordance with the original timetable,”; he said. “;My involvement in most forward planning matters via my compliance role [at NGS Super] has enabled me to do that, albeit with the need to update myself on the finer detail in some areas.”;
There is one investment area where Insignia’s $180 billion super arm has not lost money for the past 17 years, which is what it calls the insurance-related investments. The alternatives strategy is gaining popularity among asset owners due to its diversification benefit, but Insignia’s super and asset management investment chief Dan Farmer warns it is a space where investors can suffer if they “stumble in without doing the homework”.
Darcy SongJanuary 23, 2025
