New role at Hostplus for Head of Investment Strategy

Hostplus has confirmed the promotion of Greg Clerk to the new role of deputy chief investment officer (CIO), effective October 2018.

Clerk was previously the $37 billion industry fund's head of investment strategy, having joined in March 2016 from JANA, where he provided consulting and investment advice to super funds, including Hostplus.

Hostplus CIO, Sam Sicilia, said of his contribution: "Greg has played a pivotal role in Hostplus' investment outperformance over the past 16 years working as a highly valued leader in our investments team and formerly advising Hostplus as a senior consultant at JANA."

He added that Clerk has a "deep knowledge base spanning physics, economics, quantitative analytics and information technology" and that he "takes a hands-on approach to continuous improvement across [the fund's] investment governance, portfolio construction and investment strategy."

In his new role, Clerk will remain involved in developing Hostplus' investment strategy, portfolio construction, asset allocation and other investment-related decisions. And all heads of asset classes, who previously reported to Sicilia, will now report to Clerk, the fund said.

"I feel privileged to have Greg working alongside me and look forward to having more time to consider capital markets and the role of geopolitical forces against a rage of possible scenarios that may impact the fund's long-term investment horizon," Sicilia concluded.