Industry fund Australian Reward Investment Alliance (ARIA) has set aside $80 million to spend on international private equity and hired UK based investment consultant Altius to advise it.

The news marks a departure from ARIA's past private equity strategy where it had only sought to invest indirectly through private equity funds of funds.

ARIA's chief executive Steve Gibbs said the fund had signed up Altius for three years and that it would advise on investments in Europe and the United States.

"We don't have a lot of international private equity going directly to individual managers. In the past we have opted for a fund of funds approach," he said.

He added that ARIA planned to replace Briar Dowsett as head of the fund's private equity portfolio within weeks. Dowsett left ARIA to join NAB Capital last week.
 
Direct investments have become increasingly popular with superannuation funds. ARIA stepped up its commitment towards direct property investment in January with a $31.5 million investment in the City Close Industrial Estate in Sydney.

Gibbs admitted, however, that the direct property market in Australia was highly competitive and it was increasingly difficult to find the right opportunities.

ARIA makes its property investments through Sydney based specialist Arcadia Funds Management.

ARIA is one of Australia's biggest super funds with $17 billion under management. It was established last year through the merger of the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme and Public Sector Superannuation Scheme.

The fund is in the process of finding a replacement for chief investment officer André Morony, who stepped down late last year.