Source: Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation
7 August 2026
The Guardians of NZ Superannuation, manager of the $94 billion NZ Super Fund, has appointed long-serving investment leader Alex Bacchus Head of Asset Allocation.
Mr Bacchus will take up the role early next month.
Guardians co-Chief Investment Officer Brad Dunstan says the Guardians is fortunate to have someone with Mr Bacchus’s broad investment knowledge and deep understanding of the NZ Super Fund to step into what is a pivotal role.
“Asset allocation is one of the most important decisions we make as an investor. Alex’s experience across risk, portfolio construction and strategic tilting will be invaluable as we continue to refine and improve the way we invest the Fund.”
During a 17-year career with the Guardians, Mr Bacchus 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 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.
Mr Bacchus will replace Dr Charles Hyde, who is leaving the Guardians to take up a role abroad.
Mr Dunstan said: “Charles has expertly guided the evolution of the Super Fund’s globally-influential total portfolio approach, and recently finalised a series of important investment governance reviews, including the five-yearly review of the Fund’s Reference Portfolio. He leaves the Guardians with our best wishes and our thanks for the excellent contribution he has made over more than a decade.”