Australia's State Super hired Neuberger Berman to manage a concentrated, data science-powered global equities allocation, confirmed Andrew Huang, senior investment manager-equities with the Sydney-based A$44 billion ($28.2 billion) superannuation fund.
Mr. Huang declined to reveal the size of State Super's allocation to the New York-based manager's Global Equities Data-Science Integrated flagship strategy.
Lucas Rooney, a Melbourne-based managing director and head of institutional business with Neuberger Berman Australia, described the "large" mandate as an important milestone in his firm's three-year effort to build a data science capability.
Neuberger Berman already uses data science to garner investment insights in its book of business but the GEDI strategy is its first to "turbo charge" those capabilities. State Super is the strategy's first client allocation, Mr. Rooney said.
For GEDI's low turnover portfolio of about 35 stocks, Mr. Rooney said, the firm's data scientists will work closely with its traditional research analysts to glean insights into specific companies.
