Aware Super embarking on the next chapter of growth to becoming a AU$250 billion fund
Global Investment Insights
with Damien Webb, Deputy Chief Investment Officer & Head of International, Aware Super
Aware Super is embarking on its next chapter of growth in its ambitions to becoming a AU$250 billion fund by 2026, and they have expanded the role of their Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Damien Webb who will now also lead the Fund’s international expansion, as their new Head of International.
Damien joined Aware Super in January 2014 as the Head of Income and Real Assets and in September 2021 was promoted to the role Deputy Chief Investment Officer/Head of Real Assets.
In this exclusive interview with Global Investment Institute (GII), Damien shares the main drivers for the global expansion of the Fund’s footprint, the key strategic objectives he will be striving to achieve in his new capacity and outlines what success will look like from the Fund’s perspective, and, most importantly, for their more than one million members.
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We are now one of Australia’s biggest institutional investors – we have AU$160 billion under management, with a target of AU$250 billion by 2026.
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Q. What attracted you most to the opportunity of spearheading Aware Super’s expansion into overseas markets?
Above all else, it’s an incredibly appealing role because of the benefits international expansion will unlock for our members. Aware Super is one of Australia’s largest profit-to-member funds with more than 1 million members, including many essential workers such as nurses, teachers, police officers and childcare workers. They all rely on us to deliver strong long-term returns on their retirement savings so they’ll be able to live their best possible retirement. To that end, it’s in our DNA to find the most compelling investment opportunities not just in Australia but around the world, and indeed, we’ve been investing globally for many years with great results. I also enjoy being at the leading edge of finding innovative ways to invest.
Our on-the-ground presence in London will take that to the next level, significantly enhancing our capacity to find those compelling investments and ensure they deliver for our members. To be tasked with spearheading that strategy – knowing it will help us keep delivering strong risk-adjusted returns and make a tangible difference to so many Australians who work so hard for the community – is humbling and incredibly energising.
Q. At what AUM (either current or projected) should a fund establish a global presence and what are the main benefits you are hoping to achieve through Aware Super’s global expansion?
There’s no ‘one size fits all’ – no specific level of AUM at which a fund should have a presence overseas. The value you can extract from an international office is closely correlated to your investment objectives. Extra scale, though, does open opportunities unavailable to smaller institutions. Following three mergers since 2020, we’re now one of Australia’s biggest institutional investors – we have AU$160 billion under management, with a target of AU$250 billion by 2026. As a result, the benefits we can deliver for our members from an overseas office significantly outweigh the costs.
You can have some of the world’s best dealmakers and investment analysts on your staff – and indeed, we do – but you’ll still be limited in what you can achieve without an on-the-ground presence overseas. For us, there’s a multitude of benefits in having a presence in a global investment hub like London. It will enhance our capacity to source great deals in Europe by tapping local expertise widely and efficiently. We’ll be leveraging our existing networks and building new ones. It will support our strategy of bringing more asset management in-house to enhance returns and reduce costs for members. It will only heighten our reputation as a top employer that offers global growth opportunities. And the list goes on and on.
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Having a presence in a global investment hub like London will enhance our capacity to source great deals in Europe by tapping local expertise widely and efficiently.
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Q. What are the top strategic objectives for you in your new role as Head of International and over what time horizon are you looking to achieve them?
We have a long list of strategic objectives for this role across short, medium and long-term horizons. In terms of the objectives we can share publicly, a key focus for the next one to five years is extending our investment management capabilities across international property, infrastructure and private equity, and continuing to increase our asset allocation to private markets. At our London office, we’re aiming to have up to 14 staff – local hires in addition to some staff who’ll move from Australia – by the end of this year, and 30 to 40 within three years. In coming years we’ll also examine the case for opening a US office.
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A key focus for the next one to five years is extending our investment management capabilities across international property, infra and private equity, and continuing to increase our asset allocation to private markets.
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These and other strategic objectives of the role align with our broader strategic objectives as a fund. Of the AU$250 billion in funds under management we’re targeting for 2026, we expect to be managing AU$125 billion internally. That target includes almost AU$100 billion of listed assets and around AU$25 billion in unlisted assets – around five and three times current levels respectively, which will help us continue to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns and keep costs down for members. We’re planning to grow our total investment team significantly over the same timeframe, from about 115 now to as much as 200.
Q. What are the biggest challenges to expanding globally and what learnings have you sought to apply from other, large global peers who have embarked on this path?
Some of the biggest challenges we face revolve around the logistics of expanding globally in the current environment – for example, ensuring we’ve got the right people in the right roles at a time when jobless rates are exceptionally low and there’s something of a war for talent. In Australia, that’s a relatively simple task as we’re regarded (and have been recognised) as one of the best places to work. We’ve established that reputation despite the fact our brand is relatively new – while our history dates from the early 1990s, the Aware Super brand was launched less than three years ago.
We know our reputation as an employer of choice won’t automatically extend to offshore markets, so carving it out overseas as we have at home is just one example of the work we have ahead. In that context, we’re not necessarily looking to the experience of major global peers who have expanded internationally, such as the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, for a template. These peers will have faced challenges and enjoyed opportunities particular to their circumstances and timing for offshore expansion, just as we will.
Q. How will the success of Aware Super’s global expansion be measured? What does success look like for you and the Fund?
The success of our global expansion will ultimately be measured against the same yardstick as all our work: that is, it needs to deliver strong long-term returns for our 1.1 million members so they can live their best retirement. At a more granular level, if will have been successful if it has added significantly to our firepower in securing and managing investments that deliver those returns; helped us further diversify geographically and tap new assets with different counterparties; enhanced our governance capacity to help us extract value out of a bigger portfolio of direct assets; supported us in internalising more of our investment management, and; helped us deliver more fee reductions for our members.
I’d suggest that if, come 2026, we have more than 30 people working out of our London office within a broader investment team of 200 people, helping the fund manage AU$250 billion of assets, with some half of that managed internally and a significant increase in our exposure to real assets, we’ll be ticking every one of those boxes.
Damien Webb, Deputy Chief Investment Officer & Head of International, Aware Super
Damien is the Deputy Chief Investment Officer and Head of International at Aware Super. He joined the fund in 2014 as the Head of Income and Real Assets and in September 2021 was promoted to the role Deputy Chief Investment Officer/Head of Real Assets. He was appointed as the Head of International in February 2023 and is responsible for building the presence of Aware Super, firstly in Europe, and other offshore markets, in addition to growing relationships which support the effective originaton and ownership of assets.
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