Cbus Super appoints head of portfolio strategies

Oksana Patron

7 August 2023

Cbus Super has announced the appointment of Leigh Gavinas its new Head of Portfolio Strategies.

The superannuation fund has said this would be a critical role to drive its five-year investment strategy, through which the fund intends to internalise more than half its assets under management, while also enhancing global partnerships for greater access to new investment, it said.

Gavin joined Cbus from AustralianSuper where he was most recently Head of Investment Model Design. Prior to this, he served as Chief Investment Officer of LUCRF Super following a long career advising some of Australia’s largest funds at Frontier Advisors.

“This is a key appointment to assist in accelerating the Fund’s internal equities capability, which currently manages around $7.7 billion in fundamental strategies, and we are delighted to secure Leigh for this role,” Cbus chief investment officer, Brett Chatfield, said.

“Leigh is highly regarded across the industry with a proven record of optimising portfolio outcomes. Leigh will also provide support across our broader internalisation programme as well as key strategic portfolio initiatives and business management activities.”

Cbus Super is the $85 billion industry super fund for the building, construction and allied industries.

The fund said its members would continue to benefit from its investments internalisation program and its previous successful five-year investment strategy saw 38% of asset management brought in-house, reductions to external manager costs, asset class refinements and total investment fee savings of $512 million for members.