Aware Super hires public market equities lead

Aware Super has recruited a former Vanguard portfolio manager to run its $90 billion public market equities business.

Agnes Hong will join the superannuation fund's Sydney offices in February, relocating from Philadelphia.

In the role as head of public market equities, she will oversee the fund's work in systematic, managed and direct equities and lead its strategy into 2030.

Hong joins Aware Super from Vestmark Advisory Solutions, where she was investment chief and head of advisory services.

She is a one-time senior portfolio manager at Vanguard Equity Investment Group, head of passive equity portfolio management at Charles Schwab and a portfolio manager of global institutional index equities and quant active equities at BlackRock.

Hong will report to Aware's head of portfolio management Simon Warner, who landed from AMP Capital last September.

Warner said Aware Super was thrilled to have attracted Agnes back to Australia to help drive the next evolution of the fund's $90 billion public market equities strategy.

"Having someone with Agnes' calibre, skills and global experience to lead the evolution of our public market equities strategies across internally and externally managed, systematic and fundamental strategies, will set a new benchmark for how Australian super funds can extract value from this sector," he said.

"This new role is also sending a signal to the market that we are evolving and deepening our strategic engagements with corporates, brokers and advisers to become their preferred partner as companies increasingly seek capital and undertake transactions to deliver sustainable and appropriate returns to shareholders."

Hong said having lived and worked overseas, she has a deep appreciation of the value Australia's superannuation system plays in the retirement futures of all Australians.

"I'm excited to be relocating back to Australia to join one of the nation's leading super funds ...and energised to play a key role in generating a strong retirement income pipeline for Aware Super's 1.1 million members."

In other changes, three members of the public markets teams have been promoted. Murray Keir has been elevated to senior portfolio manager for systematic equities, Alvin Chan to portfolio manager for direct equities and Bruce Low to portfolio manager.

Robert Credaro, Aware's head of growth assets (private equity, managed equity and direct equity portfolios) retired in December.