Updated with correction
Anna Shelley was appointed chief investment officer for two Melbourne-based funds – A$16 billion ($10.8 billion) Equip Super and A$10 billion Catholic Super – in the process of merging their investment and back-office operations while retaining their distinct brands, according to a joint announcement Thursday by the two funds.
Ms. Shelley currently serves as Catholic Super's CIO. On Aug. 16, LGIAsuper, a A$13 billion, Brisbane-based fund, announced that Troy Rieck, Equip Super's investment chief, would become its CIO, effective Sept. 23.
The combination of Equip Super and Catholic Super — the first instance among not-for-profit industry funds of a merger employing an "extended public offer" model that allows funds maintain separate brands — should facilitate industry consolidation, Equip Super Chairman Andrew Fairley said in the joint news release.
The two funds have signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the establishment of a joint venture trustee to overseer their combined 150,000 members with retirement assets of A$26 billion — making the organization Australia's 10th largest not-for-profit fund.
Mr. Fairley suggested the extended public offer model could allow the joint venture trustee to bring in additional funds, predicting the pool of retirement assets Ms. Shelley will be tasked with overseeing could grow to A$50 billion by 2025.
In the news release, Mr. Fairley said Ms. Shelley's appointment will "align the two funds from an investment perspective and strongly position us for further growth."
