Equip hires new investment chief

Andrew Howard
ANDREW HOWARD
PEF Commercial Finance - Chief Investment Officer
APPOINTMENT
PEF COMMERCIAL FINANCE
Date: 5 October 2021
Position: Chief Investment Officer
By Elizabeth Fry

Equip has appointed Andrew Howard as the industry fund's chief investment officer effective November.

Howard joins from Hostplus, where he is deputy chief investment officer. He replaces Anna Shelley who was appointed AMP Australia's chief investment officer in May.

He will be responsible for leading the investment strategy and portfolio management for the fund which has $30 billion in assets across Equip and Catholic Super.

Before working at Hostplus, Howard was head of investment at VicSuper.

Early on in his career, he held roles at Mercer, Treasury Group, and Frontier.

Commenting on the new hire, Scott Cameron, Equip chief executive, referred to Howard's wealth of experience across all aspects of investment management, including investment strategy and portfolio construction.

He also underlined Howard's responsible investing credentials.

Importantly, when at VicSuper, Howard ran the fund's responsible investment strategy, which saw it included in the PRI Global Leaders for 2019 - one of only 47 funds globally to be recognised.

"Andrew brings considerable knowledge and skills, and his strong understanding of responsible investment will be a great asset to our fund and our Equip and Catholic Super members," he added.