An underlying manager in Chris Cuffe’s Third Link Growth Fund has appointed the industry figure to its board, alongside Russell Investment Group’s erstwhile head of institutional business.
Both Cuffe and the former managing director of Russell Investment Group’s institutional business, Stephen Roberts, became non-executive directors of Australian carbon hedge fund arkx as the vehicle qualified for inclusion in Third Link. arkx has also donated 5 per cent of its equity to SVA, a non-profit organisation receiving the bulk of the 1.4 per cent management fee earned by Third Link and of which Cuffe is an executive director. The founders and executive directors of arkx, Geoff Evison and Lisa Wade, initially approached Cuffe to present the fund as a candidate for inclusion in Third Link. As Cuffe conducted due diligence on the fund the common interests among the parties led to the non-executive director appointments and the donation to SVA. Wade said that Cuffe and Roberts’ industry experience would benefit the fund. The appointments follow on from that of Tony Coleman, formerly the head of risk management and group actuary at Insurance Australia Group (IAG), joining arkx as chairman earlier this month. Tim Buckley, the head of equities at Shaw stockbroking, has been a non-executive director with arkx since inception. “Having an extra level of expertise has been transformational,” Wade said. arkx, a multi-strategy hedge fund that targets opportunities arising from climate change and the introduction of carbon markets, was launched in December 2007 and won its first mandate, from IAG, in June. Its portfolio of 18 stocks is predominantly invested in listed companies offshore, but its mandate allows it to invest 10 per cent of its capital in unlisted clean tech companies. A spokesperson for SVA said that the sustainability focus of arkx resonated with one of the non-profit’s focus areas – the environment. “We think the capital markets, by garnering investment dollars, can help solve some of the problems in this area with its sheer weight of capital.” Other people have donated shares to SVA, the spokesperson added. “We actively invite donations of this nature.” In the year to date, arkx returned 3.76 per cent against the -14.05 benchmark return of the MSCI Global Index.
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
