Ian Silk plans to step down as chief executive of A$230 billion ($172.2 billion), Melbourne-based AustralianSuper later this year after 15 years leading the country's biggest superannuation fund, according to a news release.
Mr. Silk plans to step down when his "term ends later this year," the release said.
A spokesman for the fund said the chief executive's term has no set end date but he will give up the helm before the end of 2021.
Paul Schroder, the fund's chief risk officer, will take on AustralianSuper's chief executive position at that time, the news release said.
Mr. Silk couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
He has guided the organization since AustralianSuper was formed 15 years ago from the merger of two smaller funds — the Australian Retirement Fund and the Superannuation Trust of Australia — to create what was then the superannuation system's largest fund, with A$21 billion in retirement assets for 1.1 million participants. He had been chief executive of ARF, a spokesman said.
Today, the fund manages more than A$230 billion on behalf of 2.4 million participants. With workers' monthly contributions of 10% of their salaries, which total about A$20 billion a year, and annualized investment returns of 9.49% over the past decade, assets can be projected to surge to A$500 billion over the coming five years, should that rate of return be maintained, another spokesman said.
Mr. Silk has overseen the fund's growth to more than 1,000 employees, with overseas offices in London, New York and Beijing, from 50 employees when ARF and STA merged in 2016, the AustralianSuper news release said.
Incoming chief executive Mr. Schroder, meanwhile, has served in a number of roles at the fund over more than a decade including as head of group executive strategy, brand and reputation, and group executive membership.
