Three to run $12b of Super

By ELLEN READ

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has appointed three small-cap equity managers to oversee an eventual investment of over $12 billion.

Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley, Numeric Investors, and Axa Rosenberg Investment Management Asia Pacific bring to 12 the number of external managers appointed so far across a variety of asset classes.

When the fund is fully invested (planned by the end of next month) small-cap equities will make up 12 per cent of the total.

Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley will manage a US small-cap value mandate, Numeric Investors a US small-cap growth mandate and Axa a non-US small-cap mandate.

More small-cap managers will be appointed shortly as will the first managers for the private equity and emerging markets asset categories.

"We've been focusing on listed markets before looking at the other areas," Chief executive Paul Costello said, adding that eventually around 20 managers will be involved.

The fund is 80 per cent invested and on track for full investment by the end of June, he said.

As of April 30, its total was $3.575 billion with a year to date (the seven months from October to the end of April) total return of 5.87 per cent. Annualised this gives a 10.2 per cent return, meaning the fund is ahead of its objective to beat the cash return by three percentage points.

The fund began investing at the end of September and aims to partially subsidise the future cost of superannuation. The Government is allocating on average $2.2 billion a year to the fund - which is expected to grow to around $100 billion by 2020 - over the next 20 years.

New Zealand Superannuation Fund