Boosting top-level talent has been a focus of appointments among state-owned investors as they seek to adapt to a rapidly changing market environment.
This week, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) appointed the Jonathan Hausman to lead its newly created Global Investment Strategy Department. The department is being established to develop strategic responses to emerging global themes across asset classes and regions. The purpose of the department is to support the investments division on identifying themes for investment and cultivating relationships to boost long-term returns.
Having joined OTPP in 2004, Hausman was previously head of Alternative Investments and Global Tactical Asset Allocation, where he was responsible for the Fund's global hedge fund portfolio. Previously, he managed sovereign risk strategy at Goldman Sachs.
Responding to Hausman’s appointment, OTPP’s CIO Ziad Hindo said: "Having an informed and integrated view of strategic trends has always been core to our approach to delivering superior returns and impact over the long term. The Global Investment Strategy team will deepen our capacity to identify and tackle multifaceted themes as we grow our investments around the world.”
Meanwhile, Australia’s Future Fund has hired Toby Johnston as its first chief economist. He will lead the fund's economic team and have a primary focus on providing strategic advice, analysis and insights on relevant global macro-economic issues and opportunities. He previously spent the last 17 years at Wellington Management as a partner and global macro strategist.
On Johnston’s appointment, Future Fund CIO Sue Brake said: “The world is changing and how we respond to these changes is critical. This is an important senior role that will deepen our understanding of key macroeconomic issues such as those discussed in our recent position paper, and bring a strong investment lens to analysing and responding to those issues.”
Other funds who have appointed in-house Chief Economists include Canada’s CDPQ and OMERS, The Netherlands’ PGGM, Abu Dhabi’s ADIA, Singapore’s GIC, China’s SAFE, New Zealand’s NZ Super, and in Australia TCorp and QIC.
Image source: OTPP
