FuturePlus, the investment manager for the Energy Industries Super Scheme and Chifley Financial Services, has attracted the head of investments for a $12 billion fund as its new CIO.

After four years as the first (and still only) head of the investment division for WorkCover NSW, Michael Block has resigned and will become the FuturePlus chief investment officer from January next year.

FuturePlus has been without a chief investment officer since September 2007, when Terry Newson left and took analysts Gavin Mork and Daniel Park with him to form a new asset consultancy (Park has since returned to FuturePlus following the failure of Newson’s venture). Brad Storey has been the acting CIO.

At WorkCover, Block oversaw the amalgamation of six separate investment funds. In April this year he implemented an Australian equities restructure which saw five of eight active managers terminated, and replaced with an enhanced passive core.

Prior to joining WorkCover NSW, Block was the director of treasury and investment services for the University of NSW.

The chief executive of Workcover NSW, Jon Blackwell, was unavailable for comment at presstime.