Top Australian pension fund lifts private credit mandate to $1.5 billion By Reuters

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<p>By Lewis Jackson and Archishma Iyer</p>
<p>(Reuters) -Pension giant AustralianSuper said on Wednesday it had increased a U.S. private credit mandate with Churchill Asset Management to $1.5 billion as part of plans to triple its exposure to the in-demand asset class. </p>
<p>The investment with the U.S.-based manager builds on an initial installment of $250 million in 2022 and will target senior and unitranche loans to private equity-backed U.S. middle market companies. </p>
<p>AustralianSuper, which manages over A$300 billion ($196.8 billion) and is the country’s largest fund, has over $4.5 billion invested in private credit globally, and aims to triple its exposure in the coming years. </p>
<p>“We believe the current environment is especially appealing to increase our investments in private credit,” the fund’s head of private credit, Nick Ward, said in a joint statement. </p>
<p>“Base rates have gone from zero to 5% so you are now looking at yields of 10-12% for senior lending to middle market companies.”</p>
<p>Private markets overseas, especially debt, are top priorities for Australia’s largest pension funds as they look for ways to deploy the rapidly growing A$2.4 trillion pool of retirement savings that is outgrowing the domestic market.</p>
<p>The global hunt for yield is especially relevant for Australian pension funds who are moving from a decades-long emphasis on asset growth, to a focus on income for members reaching retirement. </p>
<p>“Ever-growing funds and an aging population, mean post-retirement stage members are driving increased demand for consistent income opportunities,” Andrew Kleinig, Head of Australia at Nuveen, said in the joint statement.</p>
<p>Churchill is an investment-specialist affiliate of American asset manager Nuveen, itself a subsidiary of TIAA.</p>
<p>($1 = 1.5244 Australian dollars)</p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/australiansuper-ups-program-size-with-churchill-asset-management-to-15-billion-3255166">Source link </a></p><p>The post <a href="https://forextraderhub.com/top-australian-pension-fund-lifts-private-credit-mandate-to-1-5-billion-by-reuters.html">Top Australian pension fund lifts private credit mandate to $1.5 billion By Reuters</a> first appeared on <a href="https://forextraderhub.com">Forex Trader Hub</a>.</p>