Charles Woodhouse, the former deputy chief investment officer at Australian Retirement Trust (ART), has been appointed chief investment officer at the Abu Dhabi Pension Fund.
The fund has been described as “a growing pool of sovereign sponsored pension assets” in the Middle East. In the five years to 2020, it dispersed over AED15 billion ($6.4 billion) in pensions and social benefits according to its annual report.
It is understood Woodhouse commenced as CIO on 16 October 2023 and moved to the United Arab Emirates for the role.
Previously, he had held the role of deputy CIO at ART between February 2022 and September 2023.
Prior to the merger of Sunsuper and QSuper in early 2022 to form ART, Woodhouse was with QSuper for over 12 years. He was CIO for two and a half years and spent five months as chief executive ahead of the merger.
His résumé also includes two and a half years as director of alpha investments at Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) and a decade at Stonebridge Capital Management in the United States as managing director.
He is the second senior executive to depart the $260 billion fund after it was announced that ART CEO, Bernard Reilly, will be stepping down in February 2024.
In a statement, chair, Andrew Fraser, said: “Bern will leave an incredible legacy, having played an integral role in delivering Australia’s largest superannuation merger to create Australian Retirement Trust back in February 2022.
“Bern has expertly guided Australian Retirement Trust to deliver merger benefits to our more than 2.3 million members and grow funds under administration to more than $260 billion. But I think the thing Bern should be proudest of, and a true testament to his leadership capabilities, is the culture he has helped grow across our organisation.”
