AustralianSuper has appointed Queensland-based institutional investment house (QIC) as its US investment manager for retail property.
The appointment of QIC, which invests in shopping centres, is part of AustralianSuper's direct investing strategy and is an open-ended mandate to invest in dominant shopping centres.
Under the strategy investments will be direct rather than pooled vehicles, and AustralianSuper can decide what US properties it invests in and how assets are managed.
AustralianSuper head of property Jack McGougan said the appointment was part of the fund's internal investment strategy.
"AustralianSuper is executing this strategy to increase its holdings of prime retail assets with a focus on developed markets and we are confident that QIC is the right partner for us in the US," McGougan said.
AustralianSuper has invested with QIC since 2010 through an interest in the QIC Property Fund, which has a dominant weighting to regional and super regional shopping centres.
AustralianSuper had $1.1 billion in pooled investments with QIC as of June 2013.
QIC Global Real Estate managing director Steven Leigh said the appointment was an opportunity to establish its US retail property portfolio.
"We are pleased to be building on our US platform, which was established with our recent investment alongside Forest City," Leigh said.
QIC entered an agreement with US-based Forest City Enterprises to form a joint venture in a real estate portfolio made up of eight US regional retail malls.
It has more than $74 billion in funds under management including over $10 billion in property.
