Australia's Future Fund Has Named a New CEO and Will Recruit a New CIO: How to Write Outreach to an LP With Two Senior Seats in Motion

On 10 November 2026 the Future Fund announced that Richard Brandweiner, its chief investment officer, will become chief executive on 1 January 2027, replacing Raphael Arndt. The fund said recruitment for a new chief investment officer will begin in due course. We set out the facts in our report on the appointment. This piece covers the practical question that follows: how should a fund manager write to an allocator while both of its top seats are in motion? Everything below is our advice, not guidance from the Future Fund.

What a double handover changes, and what it does not

When one person leaves a seat, you can write to the successor. Here the chief executive is leaving, his successor is the current CIO, and the CIO seat is about to become vacant. For roughly seven weeks Brandweiner holds the CIO role while preparing for the chief executive role, and after 1 January the investment seat will be held by someone who has not been named. The announcement does not say who will run day-to-day investment decisions in the gap, so do not assume the existing investment team is unchanged or that it has changed.

Step 1: Decide whether you belong on the list at all

The Future Fund is a large sovereign wealth fund valued at A$290 billion at 30 June 2026, with the wider Board of Guardians managing more than A$350 billion across seven funds. Ask honestly whether your strategy and fund size suit an allocator of that scale. We have not verified its manager roster, typical commitment size or whether it backs first-time funds. If your fund is small or your strategy is niche, a long wait for a CIO appointment may cost you little.

Step 2: Do not write to the outgoing or the incoming chief executive

Arndt stays until the end of 2026 and is leaving. Brandweiner is preparing for a larger job. Neither is the right recipient for a first approach, and we do not recommend looking for or using personal contact details for anyone. A better target is the person who will be named to lead investments, whenever that happens. Keep a short note ready and send it within a few weeks of that announcement, or to whoever the fund says to contact.

Step 3: Keep the note to one request

Write about 100 words. State your strategy in one sentence, your fund size and stage, your track record in that area and one specific reason the fund might care. Ask for a short call or offer a one-page summary. Do not ask for a commitment. A new CIO is likely to review the portfolio before taking on new relationships, so a note that asks for little is easier to answer.

What the note might look like

A workable structure is four short sentences. The first says who you are and your strategy. The second gives your fund size, stage and the vintage you are raising. The third names one specific reason the fund might care, such as an asset, a region or a co-investment you can offer. The fourth makes a single request, for example a short call after the CIO is named. Leave out performance tables, a long deck and any claim about the fund's priorities that you cannot support, because we have not seen a stated private markets target for the Future Fund and you should not imply one.

Step 4: Use a warm route where you have one

A warm introduction from a co-investor, adviser or existing partner who knows the person is worth more than a perfect cold email. The announcement lists the new chief executive's earlier roles at Pendal Australia, First State Super, now Aware Super, and Perpetual Investments. Check whether a genuine, current relationship of yours touches any of them. Only count a link you could describe in one sentence. Our note on writing to a new sovereign fund with no board and our piece on writing to an LP in a long leadership handover cover related situations.

Step 5: Follow up on facts, not on the calendar

Do not send a second note because a few weeks have passed. Send it when something changes: the CIO search starts, a CIO is named, or the fund publishes its next update. Each is a reason to write again in one sentence. Silence while two seats are in transition is normal.

The numbers, as a share of capital and of count

By capital, the Future Fund itself is A$290 billion of a Board of Guardians total above A$350 billion, so it holds roughly 83% at most, which is our arithmetic, and the first figure is dated 30 June. By count, two senior seats are changing, one is filled, and one has no named holder or timetable. One outreach note to one future CIO has no meaningful way to be sized in advance, which is a reason to keep the effort small.

What to watch next

Watch for the start of the CIO search and the first announcement of who will lead investments after 1 January. FundLinx members can track new allocator leaders as they are named.

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