Treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced the appointment of Macquarie Group veteran, Mary Reemst, to the board of Australia’s sovereign wealth fund for a five-year term.
The announcement comes days after Chalmers confirmed new board appointments were imminent.
Reemst worked at the Macquarie Group for over 20 years, including seven years as chief executive officer and 11 years as the global head of credit.
She previously held senior investment banking roles at Bankers Trust Australia.
She has also been a board member of the Australian Banking Association, the Australian Financial Markets Association, and the Financial Markets Foundation for Children.
“This appointment will help maintain the high level of skills and experience on the Future Fund board,” Chalmers said.
There is also the question of whether Future Fund governor Peter Costello will remain for another term.
“[His term] comes up next year but we’re obviously engaged with him and more broadly as well. There are actually a couple of opportunities at the Future Fund when it comes to board appointments and the like to refresh the Future Fund,” Chalmers said in an interview last week with Patricia Karvelas at the ABC.
“It’s an incredibly important institution, one that we value. I pay tribute to Peter Costello for setting it up as treasurer. It does help us meet some of the Commonwealth’s liabilities. It has been performing relatively well over time. That’s a good thing. We appreciate that. We’re grateful for that.
“There’s a couple of board appointments that we need to make – one very soon, and one before the end of the year, and that will give us the opportunity to make sure we’ve got the right combination of skills on the fund’s board.”
Earlier this week, Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher announced the sovereign wealth fund is to be held to the same level of disclosure obligations as superannuation funds from next year, requiring periodic investment disclosures under new rules.
This will include additional information on funds managed by the $256 billion fund, which include the Disaster Ready Fund, Future Drought Fund, and the Medical Research Future Fund.
The first report will be published by the end of March 2024, covering investments held by or on behalf of the board as at 31 December 2023. Reporting will be on a biannual basis going forward.
