NZ Superannuation Fund Appoints GMO And Citigroup

For Immediate Release
2 February 2005

NEW ZEALAND SUPERANNUATION FUND APPOINTS GMO AND CITIGROUP

The Board of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation today announced the appointments of Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co LLC and Citigroup Asset Management.

Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co LLC (GMO) has been appointed to manage a growth-oriented global equity mandate.

With an initial allocation of NZ$140 million, the appointment of GMO complements that of Alliance Capital Management LP. The chosen benchmark for the portfolio is the S&P/Citigroup PMI World Growth Index.

Headquartered in Boston, GMO is a privately-held global investment management firm with US$82 billion under management as at 31 December 2004. This is the second mandate awarded to GMO. In July 2004 the firm was appointed to manage a portfolio of non-US small cap equities.

Citigroup Asset Management (Citigroup) has been appointed to manage a global emerging markets equity mandate.

The appointment of Citigroup complements that of WestLB Asset Management. Citigroup will receive an initial allocation of NZ$110 million, with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index as the chosen benchmark.

Citigroup, the asset management subsidiary of the global financial services group of the same name, has its headquarters in New York and had US$514 billion under management as at 31 December 2004.

The appointments of GMO and Citigroup bring the total number of external investment mandates to 18. The value of the Fund at 31 January 2005 was NZ$5.5 billion.

-Ends-

Notes for Editors:

About the New Zealand Superannuation Fund:

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund, which commenced investing at the end of September 2003, is designed to partially provide for the future cost of New Zealand superannuation. An ageing population means the cost of providing New Zealand superannuation is expected to double over the next 50 years. To prepare for this, the Government is allocating on average $2.2 billion a year to the Fund over the next 20 years while the cost of superannuation is relatively low. In the meantime, the Fund will invest the money on a prudent but commercial basis.

As the cost of superannuation escalates, the Government will progressively draw on the Fund to help smooth the impact on its finances. As at 31 January 2005 the value of the Fund was $5.5 billion. The Fund is expected to grow to around $100 billion by 2020.

http://www.nzsuperfund.co.nz/

For further information on GMO, visit http://www.gmo.com/

For further information on Citigroup Asset Management, visit http://www.gmo.com/

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