Russell Kennedy has advised Frontier Advisors, a leading institutional investment advisory firm, on its acquisition of NSW State Super’s dedicated investment team to create a new Independent Chief Investment Officer or ‘ICIO’ service.
The Russell Kennedy team was led by Principal, Rory Maguire from the firm’s Corporate Advisory / M&A team, with assistance from Amity Jarvis, Senior Associate (Corporate Advisory / M&A), Jack Short, Associate (Corporate Advisory / M&A) Zoe Preston, Lawyer (Corporate Advisory / M&A), alongside Nick Finlayson (Principal, Property), Catherine Bray (Principal, Property), Kayse Sugar (Associate, Property) and Gina Tresidder (Principal, IP/IT).
Russell Kennedy Principal and transaction lead, Rory Maguire, commented on the success, saying: “This was a unique and innovative deal that will see Frontier expand its advisory offering to support a wider range of fund managers, as well as continuing to support State Super and its members. We look forward to seeing the continued expansion of Frontier and its new ICIO unit."
Frontier CEO, Andrew Polson, said: “"For a long time, we have had many investors tell us they want to access the same standard of advice we offer some of the country’s largest asset owners and not have the compromise that comes with an adviser who also provides the product solutions. However, these investors typically lack the internal resources to be able to put our advice into action without outsourcing a range of functions required to manage their portfolio and often giving up that independence."
“Now, with the inclusion of an internal investment team within Frontier, we think we’ve cracked that problem for the market.”
“We want to provide investors with the benefit of retaining control over their own investment policy, strategy and portfolio construction while accessing institutional grade end-to-end investment services. And to not have to give up our unconflicted advice model in the process."
State Super CEO, John Livanas, said: "We have a great team of professionals managing the investment of our portfolio and they’ve worked closely with Frontier for many years now. For State Super, it will be a seamless transition as both the current adviser and investors will remain operating exactly as they have for over a decade. And, we can secure this proven capability for State Super and our members into the future.”
“For the team itself, this move opens up professional opportunities, in both the near and longer term, as they move into a much larger investment organisation with a strong growth trajectory"
Transaction Details:
Under the transaction, State Super will acquire a 23% equity stake in Frontier Advisors together with a seat on Frontier’s board, aligning the NSW public sector superannuation fund with other major shareholders - AustralianSuper, Hesta, Cbus and First Super.
In return, in an industry first, State Super’s dedicated investment team will transfer inside Frontier to create a new ‘ICIO’ service to continuing running State Super’s portfolio, as well as providing a new offering to support smaller funds and other asset managers.
Further details are set out in Frontier’s media release and coverage from the Australian Financial Review.
About Frontier Advisors:
Frontier Advisors was established in 1994 and with $850 billion in funds under advice and is one of Australia’s leading specialist, independent investment advisory businesses.
About State Super:
State Super is the Trustee of the State Authorities Superannuation Scheme (SASS), State Superannuation Scheme (SSS) and Police Superannuation Scheme (PSS). The assets of all schemes have been combined into the STC Pooled Fund. State Super is one of Australia’s largest superannuation schemes with over 80,000 members and $60 billion in member benefits, with $38 billion in assets (as of 30 June 2025).
Further assistance:
Russell Kennedy delivers expert legal solutions and provides market-leading expertise in our sectors of focus. We are committed to making a difference for our clients, providing opportunities for our people and creating positive and lasting change within our community.
Russell Kennedy is a national firm with offices in Melbourne and Sydney, proudly in operation for more than 120 years. We presently have over 300 staff across our offices.
For more information regarding our expert Mergers & Acquisitions team, click here or contact Rory Maguire.
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