Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, The Future Fund, has promoted its deputy chief investment officer Ben Samild to chief investment officer (CIO).
Samild has worked with the sovereign fund for 10 years. He will be taking over the role from the chief executive officer Raphael Arndt, who has been acting in the role since June last year.
As deputy CIO for portfolio strategy from 2021 and then for portfolio construction from 2022, Samild was involved in reviewing investment strategy in light of the ‘New Investment Order’ position paper that set out the Future Fund’s thinking on the changing global environment.
He joined the Future Fund in 2013 as a director of debt and alternatives having spent four years as head of investment strategy for LUCRF Super.
In 2018 he was appointed Head of Alternatives, helping to oversee a significant expansion of the Future Fund’s allocation to this asset class.
“Globally, inflation remains higher than is desirable and interest rates have continued to rise, while fiscal policy remains accommodative and productivity growth is low. This creates a challenging environment for investors and in his new role Ben will work closely with the Board to navigate this environment,” said Peter Costello AC, Chair of the Future Fund Board of Guardians.
Following Samild’s promotion, Hugh Murray, head of overlays, has been appointed acting deputy CIO for Portfolio Construction while Alicia Gregory remains deputy CIO for private markets.