Morrison & Co to manage infrastructure mandate

Media release

Tuesday 21st March 2006

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has appointed Morrison & Co Funds Management Limited to manage an infrastructure mandate.

The Fund's target long term exposure to Private Markets is 25%. This includes a range of assets, including sectors such as infrastructure, private equity, absolute return, timber and commodities. The appointment of Morrison & Co complements the Fund's existing infrastructure and private equity mandates. The mandate allows the manager to invest globally on behalf of the Fund.

Commenting on the appointment, chief executive Paul Costello said "The distinction between sectors in these types of investments is often fluid. We tend to avoid both boundaries around the type of investments considered and fixed allocations to these areas. We have appointed Morrison and Co because of their proven expertise as a long term investor". As at 28 February 2006 the New Zealand Superannuation Fund had $270m invested in infrastructure.

Morrison & Co Funds Management Limited is a subsidiary of H.R.L. Morrison & Co, a leading investor within the sector. They are also the manager of Infratil Limited, a public investment company in infrastructure assets. A subscriber to the Infratil shares in its float in March 1994 has received a return of over 24% per annum return after tax for the subsequent twelve years to March 2006.

This appointment brings the total number of external investment managers to 32. The value of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund as at 28 February 2006 was $9.0 billion.

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