Australia’s superannuation funds have nearly the highest proportion of internal asset management in the world, but there’s plenty of questions hanging over the practice even as funds push into more expensive niche asset classes.
The retirement chief of the $335 billion AustralianSuper, who was “instrumental” in delivering a slew of member experience uplifts across a 17-year stint with the fund, will leave this month to establish a new venture.
Emmi appoints new COO
Carbon analytics fintech Emmi has appointed a chief operations officer as it onboards a slew of new super fund and consulting clients.
Rebecca Bannan, who was previously Emmi’s head of strategy and operations, will step into the role of chief operations officer. Bannan, a chartered financial analyst, was previously investment director for strategic advisory at Willis Towers Watson in Australia and joined Emmi in June of 2021.
“Emmi has come to the market at a time when investors are crying out for a solution that not only helps them understand, but evaluate and solve for carbon risk,” Bannan said. “It is truly exciting to utilise my deep expertise in both investments and consulting to partner with our clients in identifying the financial risks and opportunities presented by the global carbon transition.
“We are welcoming new clients to Emmi including Jana, HESTA, Perennial, QIC and Acorn, all benefitting from Emmi’s quality data and quantitative approach to assessing carbon risk.”
Emmi, which is backed by a score of investors including current Hyperion chair Tim Samway – also chairing Emmi – former AMP chair Catherine Brenner, and UK-based venture capital firm Illuminate Financial VC, wants to be “the Excel of carbon data” and intends to expand into Europe and North America.
“We don’t hold any punches in saying that we want to be the global piece of infrastructure that everybody uses to understand carbon,” Emmi CEO Michael Lebbon said in December. “We’re not trying to say we’re the smartest people in the room; what we’re trying to create is the ecosystem and frameworks for asset owners and asset managers and asset consultants to understand the risk.”
“We want to be a synonymous name; when you think ridesharing you think Uber, and when you think carbon you think Emmi.”
