Future Fund reorganises investment team

The Future Fund Management Agency has announced a reorganisation of its investment team, creating five new roles.

The roles have been split by asset class, with the organisation’s existing senior investment staff appointed to them.

A spokeswoman said the new structure is intended to help Future Fund “be efficient and flexible in seeking out and taking up investment opportunities as the portfolio continues to grow”.

Australia’s sovereign wealth fund has made the move following the appointment of two deputy chief investment officers in March 2018 and the departure of head of property Barry Brakey after 10 years with the organisation.

The new roles and the appointees are: James Fraser-Smith as head of unlisted infrastructure and timberlands; Sarah Carne as head of listed tangible assets; Stewart Tillyard as head of unlisted property; Craig Dandurand as head of debt; and Ben Samild as head of alternatives.

Future Fund was valued at A$141 billion ($107.4 billion; €91.0 billion) as at 31 March 2018 and has returned 8.5 percent annually over the past 10 years, against a target benchmark return of 6.7 percent per year. Investment returns have added more than A$80 billion to the original contributions of A$60.5 billion made by the Australian government.

Future Fund chief executive David Neal said in a statement: “This new structure will help us build on our success as the Future Fund grows over the decade ahead and strengthens our ability to combine deep sectoral expertise with the ability to collaborate across teams.”