Following the internal appointment of Cbus chief investment officer, Kristian Fok, to chief executive this month, his deputy, Brett Chatfield, will step up to lead the fund’s investment strategy, effective immediately.
Chatfield, who was deputy CIO for the last four years, had first joined the superannuation fund in 2013.
He held over two decades of experience in the finance industry across institutional investment management, investment consulting, and research.
According to Fok, Chatfield had been integral to the development of Cbus’ highly successful investment model.
“I look forward to working with Brett as he leads the investment of our members’ retirement savings and cements the strong links Cbus has through our investments in the real economy and jobs,” Fok said.
“Our members trust us to work hard for them and to invest in their sectors and Brett has the expertise and connection to our members to deliver on this trust.”
Chatfield noted that next year marks the 40th anniversary since construction workers won the right to super, sparking the creation of the now $83 billion fund.
“Cbus is an innovative, global, long-term investor with a focus on investing in the real economy and I look forward to leading our world-class investment team,” he said.
“I’ll be leading a team attracted to working in a fund that invests in a way that resonates with the membership and that link to our industries — that powerful connection with jobs, the built environment, and the economy.”
As deputy CIO, Chatfield had been responsible for asset allocation, public and private markets, responsible investing, and strategy and innovation.
As CIO, he would lead the expansion of Cbus’ internal capabilities following the recent launch of its new five-year investment strategy. With its previous strategy launched in 2017, the fund had seen almost 40 per cent of its assets brought in-house and had delivered total cumulative investment costs savings for members of over $500 million by narrowing external manager costs.
Prior to joining Cbus, Chatfield had worked in institutional distribution, product development, and business strategy at Fidante.
He had been a senior consultant at Frontier for just shy of three years and a senior investment analyst at UniSuper for three years.
He had also spent over two and a half years as a senior investment analyst with Lonsec.
