Australia’s AUD237bn Future Fund has appointed activist and event-driven hedge fund Effissimo Capital Management to its roster of active equity managers, joining the likes of Maple-Brown Abbott and Wellington Investment Management, according to a report by Investment Magazine.
Singapore-based Effissimo has played a pivotal role in corporate governance battles in Japan while maintaining a low public profile. The fund was founded in 2006 by former associates of Yoshiaki Murakami, the activist investor behind Japan’s influential Murakami Fund, who later faced a suspended prison sentence for insider trading.
Effissimo has secured backing from institutional investors, including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and several university endowments, according to media reports.
The firm made headlines in 2021 when it leveraged its 10% stake in Toshiba to push for an independent investigation into allegations of management pressure on investors, including Harvard University’s endowment. The resulting probe led to the ousting of Toshiba’s chairman — a rare victory for shareholder activism in Japan.
More recently, Effissimo acquired a 2.5% stake in Nissan following the carmaker’s stock decline, continuing its long-running pressure campaign for Nissan to buy out Nissan Shatai, its subsidiary, where Effissimo holds a 30% stake.
While the Future Fund declined to comment on the appointment, the move aligns with its renewed focus on active equity management. The shift comes after the Future Fund’s 2017 overhaul, which eliminated active equity managers in favour of a more passive, beta-driven approach.
