Cullen says no to fund

"They should make their case to the board [of the Guardians of the fund]," Cullen says.

"The whole structure of this fund is based around the idea that the Minister of Finance doesn’t direct its investments. I think it would be quite improper of me to try to influence the fund. I can ask why certain things are being done, but if I get into the position of saying, or even seeming to say, that they should be investing in certain areas, that is over the line.

"I don’t pretend to be an investment manager. If I was I would be a lot richer person than I am."

The fund’s creditability is at stake over this issue, he says.

"I’ve always thought the danger of the big fund was not the one that most people thought – socialist government, Cossacks, and all that, but that everyone else would decide to be socialist Cossacks and the funds would be used to pay for their pet projects.

"But this fund will only have long term credibility if it is managed independently, according to best practice for superannuation funds, as soon as people start seeing the money – their future incomes – diverted into other purposes then they will become very suspicious indeed, and lose faith in the way it is being managed."