Contango Asset Management investment services director, Carol Austin, and managing director of Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia, Stephen Fitzgerald, have been appointed to the Future Fund Board of Guardians.
The Future Fund was established in 2006 and manages $90 billion on behalf of the Commonwealth. Austin and Fitzgerald replace outgoing board members Jeffrey Browne and Trevor Rowe. Austin has over 30 years of experience in the investment industry and also sits on HSBC Bank Australia's board, while Fitzgerald has extensive experience having worked in asset management in Australia and internationally.
Current chair of the board, David Murray, has agreed to extend his term for a further year to maintain the fund’s post-global financial crisis returns and complete the development of its corporate governance model, Treasury stated.
“In the space of five years the Board, led by Mr Murray, has created an organisation that is highly regarded both in Australia and around the world as skilled, well governed and transparent,” it stated.
John Mulcahy, who along with Murray has been a member of the board since the fund’s inception, has also agreed to stay on for a further four years to maintain continuity and retention of corporate knowledge, Treasury said.
Governor Michele Bullock took a more hawkish stance on Tuesday, raising concerns over Donald Trump’s escalating tariffs, which sent economists in different directions with their predictions.
Equity Trustees has announced the appointment of Jocelyn Furlan to the Superannuation Limited (ETSL) and HTFS Nominees Pty Ltd (HTFS) boards, which have oversight of one of the companies’ fastest growing trustee services.
Following growing criticism of the superannuation industry’s influence on capital markets and its increasing exposure to private assets, as well as regulators’ concerns about potential risks to financial stability, ASFA has released new research pushing back on these narratives.
A US-based infrastructure specialist has welcomed the $93 billion fund as a cornerstone investor.