CalSTRS has finished a restructuring of its investment staff, and announced Friday it had made three key appointments: the fund hired its first Chief Operating Investment Officer, as well as new directors of Fixed Income and Inflation Sensitive investments.
From a CalSTRS release:
Debra Smith has been selected CalSTRS Chief Operating Investment Officer (COIO). Glenn Hosokawa was named director of the $22.4 billion asset class, Fixed Income, the funds’ second largest. Paul Shantic was named Director of Inflation Sensitive, the newest and smallest asset class with an investment portfolio at $1.4 billion.
“These three appointments, coupled with our 2010 creation of a Deputy Chief Investment Officer, completes a new organizational structure that allows us to bring more assets in-house,” said CalSTRS Chief Investment Officer Christopher J. Ailman. “This structure matches what you find in most large investment money managers. This also fits our plans to internally manage more of our assets–currently at 45 percent in-house–to a projected 60 percent internally managed.”
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All three moved up from high-level positions in CalSTRS. Ms. Smith was director of investment operations. Messrs. Hosokawa and Shantic were acting co-directors of Fixed Income. All three come with deep knowledge and experience in finance and investment management and operations.
CalSTRS’ inaugural COIO, Ms. Smith, has risen through the ranks at CalSTRS from associate investment officer in 1998 to director of investment operations in 2010. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Fresno State University in business administration, finance and marketing. In 2012 she received a certificate as a graduate of the CalSTRS Management Academy. Ms. Smith is currently enrolled in the CalSTRS Executive Development Program with a graduation date of November 2014.
“I look forward to collaborating with investment management at CalSTRS and with our strategic business partners to put in place adaptive and innovative solutions to achieve our mission, which is securing the financial future and sustaining the trust of California’s educators,” Ms. Smith said.
More on the fund’s new investment staff structure:
The new structure has the COIO overseeing Investment Operations, Branch Administration, and a new unit comprised of Compliance, Internal Controls, Ethics and Business Continuity. The new position will also directly report to the Investment Committee twice per year. This fulfills a goal of CalSTRS’ internal auditors, who recommended the separation between investment management and investment operations.
“This new structure puts in place a smoother operation for a portfolio of our size and allows for better oversight by the board, the Deputy CIO and myself,” said Mr. Ailman, adding that: “The competition for these positions was very intense and was nationwide in scope, which speaks well for the quality of the talent we have in house.”
Read the entire release, including bios of the three appointees, here.