ING Investment Management continues to expand its Australian equities business with the addition of two key executives.

Patrick Barrett joins the company as director, real estate securities, while Philip Hudak steps in as a small companies equity analyst.

Barrett comes from Credit Suisse Asset Management, where he helped manage the firm's $300 million domestic listed property portfolio. In his new role, he reports to David Scott, director of real estate securities. Hudak joins from MIR Investment Management, where he was an analyst in the Australian equities team. He reports to Joel Fleming, portfolio manager for small companies.

ING Investment Management's presence in Australia includes over 40 professionals handling around A$30 billion (around $27.4 billion) of client assets.