The Guardians of NZ Superannuation, the autonomous Crown entity that manages the $75 billion New Zealand Superannuation Fund, has appointed Alex Bacchus as Acting Chief Investment Officer. 

Mr Bacchus joined the Guardians in 2009, and has held various roles in the Risk and Asset Allocation teams. Since 2014, he has led the Super Fund’s strategic tilting programme, a mean reversion investment strategy that has made a significant contribution to the Fund’s returns. 

Prior to joining the Guardians, Mr Bacchus worked for Goldman Sachs JBWere (NZ) Ltd as Director of Derivatives and as a Vice President at Merrill Lynch in London, with a focus on structured credit derivatives. He has a MSc from the City University of London and a BE (Hons) from the University of Canterbury. 

Current Chief Investment Officer Stephen Gilmore leaves the Guardians this month to take up the role of Chief Investment Officer at CalPERS, the largest pension plan in the United States. 

Guardians CEO Jo Townsend said the process of recruitment for a permanent Chief Investment Officer would begin shortly and a further announcement could be expected in due course.