Future Fund names asset management exec as head

The Australian sovereign wealth fund, Future Fund, has hired former Treasury Group chief executive officer Mark Burgess to lead the A$71.8 billion (€51.7 billion; $73.1 billion) organisation.

Burgess will take over as general manager of the fund from chief investment officer David Neal, who stepped in to lead Future Fund, following the resignation last year of Peter Costello. He is expected to join Future Fund in the middle of the year.

Burgess was previously CEO of listed company Treasury Group, which invests in asset management firms, and previously worked at Credit Suisse Asset Management in London as vice chairman and chief executive officer of its Europe and Middle East group. He has also worked as global head and chief investment officer of equities at American Express Asset Management. The appointment comes following a search by head hunters Korn Ferry International.

In January, Future Fund revealed its assets had grown to A$71.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010, an increase of A$2.45 billion, including its real estate operations, which grew by 0.3 percent, or A$388 million, to A$3.82 billion. The fund’s infrastructure assets also grew by 0.2 percent, or A$244 million, to A$2.95 billion, meanwhile, its private equity exposure grew by 0.1 percent, or A$157 million, to A$2.16 billion.