Legalsuper names Interim CIO

legalsuper has announced that Paul Kessell has commenced in the role of interim chief investment officer.

Mr Kessell has more than 20 years investment experience gained in Australia and the United Kingdom with both retail and profit-to-member funds, most recently as CIO of Kinetic Super in Melbourne prior to its merger with Sunsuper in 2017.

In welcoming him to legalsuper, chief executive Andrew Proebstl said, "We are pleased to welcome Paul as interim lead of our internal investment team. Paul is experienced and very well credentialled to make a strong contribution acting in the role while we undertake our search."

legalsuper has recently made several structural changes to its investment approach including: converting all Australian share investments from pooled funds to direct mandates; allocating $280 million to three new managers including Magellan, Wellington and BlueBay; and increasing its allocations to alternative assets in Barwon Healthcare Property Fund, Lighthouse Infrastructure Fund and Ancala (a European alternative energy infrastructure manager).

legalsuper is the predominant fund of choice for Australia's legal community, managing more than $4.1 billion on behalf of more than 44,000 members.

Kessell succeeds Edward Smith, who is departing the fund after more than four years as CIO.