AustralianSuper strengthens US operations and investment capability

• Mikaël Limpalaër appointed Head of Americas
• Maria Reed appointed Head of Fund Services, Americas
• Nick Ward, Head of Private Credit, to relocate to New York office
• Damien Mitchell appointed Senior Investment Director, Real Assets
• Andrew Osborne appointed Senior Investment Director, Real Assets
• Matthew Choi appointed Senior Investment Director, Private Credit

NEW YORK, Oct. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AustralianSuper, Australia's largest superannuation fund, today announced the expansion of its operations and investment capabilities in the Americas with five senior US appointments and the relocation of its Head of Private Credit to New York.

With around half of AustralianSuper's c.$228 billion (A$342 billion)¹ in total member assets currently invested outside of Australia, including more than $68 billion (A$102 billion) in North America, the continued growth of the US team demonstrates the Fund's commitment to further developing and successfully implementing its international investment model.

"With 30% of member assets currently invested in North America, the region is of great strategic importance to the Fund and a hub for our private markets investment activity," said, Damian Moloney, Deputy Chief Investment Officer of AustralianSuper. "The strengthening of our senior team in New York City reflects our commitment to building 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."

Mr. Moloney continued, "We have rapidly expanded our presence in the US to ~60 professionals and expect the team to grow to more than 120 by 2026. This enhanced capability in North America will allow the Fund to target further opportunities to generate excellent returns for members in the region."

AustralianSuper is currently the 16th largest pension fund in the world by total assets, according to the Thinking Ahead Institute's Global Top 300 Pension Funds for 2024. It is also the fastest-growing pension fund among the global top 20², and the Fund is forecast to exceed $333 billion (A$500 billion) of assets under management within the next five years. The Fund expects to deploy almost 70% of these new inflows into global markets. By 2030, the Fund expects 70% of member assets to be internally managed by its investments team.

Today, over $19 billion (A$28 billion) of AustralianSuper's assets are invested in US private markets. The Fund's portfolio of Real Assets investments in the Americas includes the Transurban Chesapeake toll road network located in the Greater Washington area; Cirion, a digital infrastructure platform comprising strategic fiber, sub-sea network and data center assets across Latin America; and Generate Capital, a climate solutions-focused sustainable infrastructure platform. The Fund's Private Credit portfolio has made loan investments in, amongst others, Cubic and Jupiter, two large US logistics portfolios; One Manhattan West, a New York City office tower; and Badger, a portfolio of multi-family assets across the Sun Belt states.

Team Background

Mikaël Limpalaër – Head of Americas, has been with AustralianSuper in London since 2020. He moves to New York having set up and led the Fund's European Private Credit team. Mikaël has over 20 years' experience in structured finance across asset classes, having previously held a series of senior positions in structured and real estate finance at Aeriance Investments, Morgan Stanley, and Barclays Capital European CMBS conduit. In his new role, Mikaël will be responsible for overseeing all of the Fund's investment and support activities across asset classes in the Americas.

Maria Reed – Head of Fund Services, Americas, joins AustralianSuper from BlackRock where she spent almost a decade, most recently as a Managing Director and Head of Technology and Transformation in the firm's global Legal & Compliance department. Maria has over 35 years' experience in financial services operations, having previously held senior positions including Chief Operating Officer of Artio Global Investors (formerly Julius Baer Investment Management), JP Morgan Asset Management, and State Street. At AustralianSuper, Maria will lead the Fund Services functions for the Americas, supporting the investment teams.

Nick Ward – Head of Private Credit, moves to New York having joined AustralianSuper in 2011. He has worked across the Fund's Infrastructure, Property and Private Credit portfolios, and in 2021 was appointed Head of Private Credit. Nick has over 20 years' experience in both infrastructure and real estate debt. Prior to joining AustralianSuper, Nick held roles at Hastings Funds Management with a focus on infrastructure debt, and at KPMG Corporate Finance in infrastructure advisory. In his role, Nick is responsible for overseeing the Fund's $4 billion Private Credit portfolio and managing a global team of 17 professionals.

Damien Mitchell – Senior Investment Director, Real Assets, joins AustralianSuper from CIM, where he was a First Vice President based in Los Angeles with a focus on energy transition and transportation. Damien has over 25 years' experience in infrastructure investment management and advisory. Prior to CIM, Damien was a Partner at Stepstone Global where he led direct investment activities primarily in renewable energy. At AustralianSuper, Damien will be responsible for energy transition and transportation investments.

Andrew Osborne – Senior Investment Director, Real Assets, joins AustralianSuper from the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia based in Riyadh where he was the Head of Strategy for Real Estate and Infrastructure within the Investment Strategy division. Prior to PIF, he was a transactions executive for Brookfield in New York. Andrew has over 30 years' investment and strategic asset management experience and is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS) and the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE). At AustralianSuper, Andrew will work on the Fund's legacy property activities in the US.

Matthew Choi – Senior Investment Director, Private Credit, joins AustralianSuper from Granite Point Mortgage Trust where he was a Director responsible for US real estate debt investments. Prior to Granite Point, Matthew held investment positions at Torchlight Investors, Cerberus Real Estate Capital Management and GreenOak Real Estate. Matthew began his career at Credit Suisse and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Real Estate Development graduate program at Columbia University. At AustralianSuper, Matthew will lead the Fund's real estate debt investment activities in the Americas, including origination, portfolio management, and overall strategy.

Media Enquiries:

US media contacts:
Daniel Yunger and William Halliday, Kekst CNC
E: [email protected] / [email protected] 

AustralianSuper
Amanda Mitchell, Head of Corporate Affairs International
T: +44 7355 671 747
E: [email protected]

Daniel Oliver, Senior Manager, Investment and Corporate Communications
T: + +44 7561 687 192
E: [email protected]

AustralianSuper Australia media contacts:
Sam Prenesti
T: +61 432 796 888
E: [email protected]

About AustralianSuper

AustralianSuper manages more than A$342 billion in members' retirement savings on behalf of more than 3.4 million members from more than 478,000 businesses.

References to "AustralianSuper" or "the Fund" in this document are taken to mean AustralianSuper Pty Ltd, the AustralianSuper superannuation fund, AustralianSuper (UK) Ltd (UK company number 09949713, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority –Reference No 741471), AustralianSuper (US) LLC (a Delaware Limited Liability Company, file number 7398158), AustralianSuper Research Pty Ltd (ABN 82 105 638 319, a Beijing Representative Office) and any/or other related bodies corporate of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd.

Information included in this document is of a general nature only.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the details contained herein are correct and up-to-date, this information does not constitute legal or other professional advice. We do not accept any responsibility, legal or otherwise, for any error or omission.

SOURCE AustralianSuper