AustralianSuper bolsters America’s team amid offshore expansion

The country’s largest fund is bolstering its team in a region of “great strategic importance”.

With nearly a third of its member assets now invested in North America, AustralianSuper has ramped up its US presence, appointing Mikaël Limpalaër as head of Americas alongside four senior hires.

Maria Reed takes on the role of head of fund services, while Damien Mitchell and Andrew Osborne join as senior investment directors in real assets. Nick Ward, head of private credit, has relocated to New York, and Matthew Choi has been appointed senior investment director, private credit.

In a statement on Friday, AustralianSuper’s deputy chief investment officer Damian Moloney underscored the strategic importance of North America to the fund, particularly in private markets.

“To help members achieve their best financial position in retirement we need to have an on the ground presence in global financial centres to access the best quality investment opportunities,” Moloney said.

“By strengthening our senior team in New York, we can continue to build a best-in-class investment platform in the US across real assets, private credit and private equity, with the aim of delivering sustainable long-term performance for more than 3.4 million members.”

Moloney said that AustralianSuper now has some 60 professionals operating in New York, with this number expected to grow to more than 120 by 2026.

“Enhancing our capability in North America will allow the fund to target further opportunities to generate excellent returns for members,” he said.

Around half of AustralianSuper’s $342 billion assets under management are invested globally, including more than $102 billion in North America.

Super funds have ramped up their international investments as their assets under management have surged in recent years, driven by the constraints of the relatively small local market. Funds have also increasingly engaged in setting up offshore offices, with AustralianSuper highlighted as being “ahead of the pack” in recent research released by Morningstar.

Namely, the research house said four large funds – AustralianSuper, ART, Aware, and Rest – have taken the plunge, but, at the moment, AustralianSuper is the only fund with “more than a handful of staff overseas”.

Addressing the matter, Limpalaër said AustralianSuper will “always be strongly committed to investing in the Australian economy”.

“But as the fund grows there is an increasing need to expand in global financial centres such as New York,” he said.

“Having local teams on the ground in key markets helps us build relationships with world-class partners and source attractive investment opportunities for members.”