New Chief Investment Officer appointed

13 January 2022

LGIAsuper and Energy Super have appointed a new Chief Investment Officer (CIO) ahead of the planned acquisition of Suncorp’s superannuation business in 2022.

Mark Rider, a prominent economist and accomplished investment strategist, has been appointed to the combined fund's CIO role after a national recruitment search.

Mr Rider, who began his career at the Reserve Bank of Australia and was a winner of its prestigious postgraduate scholarship, brings decades of experience in the financial services industry. He has previously served at the RBA, as Australian Chief Economist for UBS Investment Bank, CIO for wealth and private banking at ANZ, and as the CIO of Christian Super.

LGIAsuper CEO Kate Farrar said Mr Rider's experience would help the fund deliver an investment team and approach that would best serve our 123,000 members.

"With a long history of delivering performance within complexity, Mark will lead the fund's renewed investment strategy as we finalise our next stage of transformation in 2022," Ms Farrar said.

“The amalgamation of our funds, and the planned acquisition of Suncorp’s superannuation business, have given us a unique opportunity to reconfigure our investments to ensure that we are delivering the best possible outcomes and future security for our members.

"Mark comes to our team with a unique perspective, having been the CIO at both a large organisation like ANZ and small (Christian Super), while excelling at both.

"He has the vision and nous to further our investment strategy while incorporating the needs of our unique, combined memberships. He is considered about investment matters, data-driven, and risk-aware, and understands how to add value in this ever-changing environment."

In his most recent role at Christian Super, Mr Rider oversaw a team that delivered a significant improvement in investment performance during his 16-month tenure. In a recent survey of MySuper funds, Christian Super was ranked fifth (out of 48) nationally by SuperRatings for returns in the year to November 2021, and the fund is second in Australia for the financial year to date.

Mr Rider said the opportunity to make a real difference to fund members’ retirement outcomes and communities had motivated him to join LGIAsuper and Energy Super.

“I admire the way LGIAsuper and Energy Super are differentiating themselves from the megafunds by really connecting with members and engaging with them on a personal basis,” Mr Rider said.

“This is a super fund where people invest money for retirement and can see that money being put to work in their own communities.

“I am looking forward to meeting with members and helping the fund take full advantage of the recent with merger with Energy Super and acquisition of Suncorp’s superannuation business to generate strong investment returns for all members.”

Mr Rider will commence in February 2022 and takes over from outgoing CIO Troy Rieck, who will leave the fund in January 2022.