Brendan Casey will become the general manager investments at REST on October 31, moving on from his role as head of investment operations and control at Suncorp.
The broad role was already in existence at the $39 billion super fund and covers investment governance (including implementation of investment decisions from the investment committee) as well as coordinating all of the super fund’s investment managers, asset consultants and custodian.
“Brendan will be looking at implementation leakage opportunities, so we can leverage off the masses of information that come from our fund managers, and trying to make sure we have access to the best ideas, or coordinate that so we can get the most out of that information,” said Damian Hill, chief executive of REST.
He added Casey will also be acting as the main conduit with members on investment matters and will have responsibility in coordinating corporate pitches on the investment side.
“It is a difficult investment environment at the moment with no easy places to hide … I want him to apply his particular intellect to some of the challenges we’ve got at the moment, on how best to eke out basis points in a low return environment, but I fully expect him to take some time to get to learn the organisation,” Hill said, adding there was a very capable team at REST already to help him transition across.
Casey will also have early exposure to the investment committee as a critical component on his transition.
Hill commented that Casey’s experience with leading global financial services brands and cultural fit made him the ideal candidate for the role.
“He has a long association with the investment industry in a number of different roles; he’s worked in the brokerage community as well as in their funds management community.”
Casey most recently held the position of head of investment operations and control at Suncorp, initially commencing his career as a chemical engineer, before moving into financial services and working for a range of household brands including CBA, Southern Cross Equities and Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup.
The appointment of Casey comes after the resignation of Ronan Walsh from the position in May.
“I’m very pleased Brendan [is] joining us shortly. I always think it’s best to take your time in recruiting these executive positions. It is not just about [the] investment side, it is about what he can add to the overall management of the fund at an executive level as well, so I’m quietly confident that he will be a very good addition to the team,” Hill said.
