AustralianSuper appoints Innes McKeand as head of equities

AustralianSuper has appointed Innes McKeand from UK manager Aegon Asset Management to the newly created role of head of equities, working across both local and international equities as well as developed and emerging markets.

AustralianSuper said McKeand will be responsible for the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategy for the construction and management of AustralianSuper's equities portfolio. He will commence the role on 12 September, reporting to the fund's chief investment officer Mark Delaney.

"AustralianSuper is a major investor in equities, with over $24 billion in our portfolio. Innes' role will be instrumental not only in growing our equities investments, but also in extracting more value from the portfolio to continue to maximise our members' returns," Delaney said.

"Over the last few years we have focused on growing our in-house investment expertise, and now have over 30 investment professionals on the team. Our in-house investment expertise ensures AustralianSuper is in a position to continue to provide strong long-term investment returns to our members."

Prior to his role as head of equities at Aegon, McKeand was chief investment officer at AIB Investment Managers, and before that he was head of investment at the Nestlé UK Pension trust. He also spent 14 years with ScottishLife Assurance Company as chief investment officer.