CalSTRS CIO steps down

Calstrs, one of the biggest US pension plans, is searching for a new chief investment officer after long-serving executive Christopher Ailman announced he was stepping after 24 years.

Ailman will continue to serve as chief investment officer at the US $318 billion pension scheme until June 30 while the board finds a replacement.

Once a new investment chief is appointed, Ailman will stay on as an advisor for the remainder of 2024.

According to the US pension fund, his insights and advice for the board and steady leadership of investment staff yielded top-quartile results for the 20 years ending June 30, 2023.

During his tenure, assets under management grew from US$109.6 billion to US$317.8 billion as of November 30, 2023.

Annualised returns for the past three, five, 10 and 20 years were 10.1 per cent, 8.2 per cent, 8.7 per cent and 8.0 per cent, respectively, as of June 30, 2023.

Throughout his career, Ailman championed diversity, encouraged the board to commit to and implement a sustainable portfolio and was a vocal advocate of reducing portfolio exposure to greenhouse gas emissions.

Moreover, he formed an innovation team and two new asset classes - inflation-sensitive and risk-mitigating strategies.

The outgoing CIO plans to serve on boards and advise asset owners and managers on the energy transition once he departs CalSTRS.

He currently sits on the boards of FCLT - Focus Capital on the Long-term and MSCI's Management Advisor Council, among others.

"It has been an honour to lead and guide this massive global investment trust fund for the teachers of California," Ailman said.

"CalSTRS is truly a world-class asset manager, and we have a powerful track record of top performance at a low cost with an amazing diverse internal team."

Harry Keiley, chair of the CalSTRS retirement board, acknowledged Ailman's legacy and said he was viewed as one of the top CIOs in the world.

"Under Christopher's leadership, CalSTRS has weathered two challenging decades of financial market downturns and bull markets," he said.

"His legacy and biggest contribution is his commitment to diversity and developing highly skilled professionals who have performed at a high level for over two decades.

"I am eternally grateful to Christopher for all that he has given to CalSTRS, and I am confident the investments team will continue to help us achieve our mission to secure the financial future of California's educators."