Guardians likely to get extra money

The Guardians of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund look set to get extra money so that they can assess potential investments in "alternative" asset classes such as infrastructure, private equity and venture capital.

The Guardians have sought at least an extra $1 million a year and Finance Minister Michael Cullen told Parliament yesterday that a decision to provide additional cash had been made a few days ago.

Guardians chief executive Paul Costello said: "Each of these areas is specialist and complex and once you make a commitment to an investment in it you have limited withdrawal options.

"So we are conscious that the work we do at the beginning in clearly understanding the sector and identifying the right organisations to evaluate the merits of a particular proposal is critical."

National finance spokesman John Key welcomed the move.

"There are a significant number of opportunities available not only to the New Zealand Super Fund but potentially to other fund managers," he said.

"The fund requires the resources to undertake the necessary research. These are likely to be large capital investments, often illiquid and for long periods of time and so difficult to assess."