Penn State Needs a New CIO | Chief Investment Officer

Penn State’s $4 billion endowment is searching for a new chief investment officer, now that its long-time leader has departed.

The university posted the inquiry in January. It is not clear if Sonali Dalal, the fund’s deputy CIO, is currently acting as its interim chief.

Whoever takes over will cover the portfolio management of the Long-Term Investment Pool and Non-Endowed Funds while also taking on the job of risk officer for the university’s investment programs.

The new chief will have some big shoes to fill as John Pomeroy, the organization’s first CIO, retired in December after 17 years in the role.

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However, Pomeroy’s retirement won’t be solely on the golf course as the former head plans on keeping busy by serving on “various” boards, particularly the Mutual Fund Board of Directors, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Penn State has several requirements for finding its new CIO, who will report to David Branigan, the university’s executive director of investment management. For starters, the winner must be a CFA charter-holder. Second, Pomeroy’s successor must have a bachelor’s degree and 12 years of related experience or an equivalent combination of the two. The university’s investment management office prefers a master’s degree in finance or related discipline along with 15 years of related experience.

The university also seeks strong project management and leadership skills. And the next CIO must be a savvy networker and team player, as he or she will be collaborating between the investment management office as well as with the University Board of Trustees, University Corporate Controller’s Office, and peer institutions including the Big Ten endowments. The Big Ten is a group of the top 14 (originally 10) universities with large athletic programs.

The gig should pay between $500,000 and $800,000 yearly, says Charles Skorina, who runs the Scottsdale, Arizona-based CIO and fund executive recruiting firm Charles Skorina and Company. He also said that there are three specific skills that endowments look for when they choose their CIOs: interpersonal skills, staff management, and horizontal investment expertise.

“Usually they want someone from another endowment who has experience with and exposure to multi-asset investing,” he told CIO, adding that interpersonal, organization, and investment skills were requested by the University of California when it searched for its chief, which went to Jagdeep Bachher. “Most CIOs [also] have to be likeable and skilled at board management.”

Interested investment professionals must submit both a cover letter and a resume. The application can be found on Penn State’s job board.

Branigan and Dalal were unable to be reached for comment.

Tags: CIO, Endowments, Job Search, John Pomeroy, Penn State

Hedge fund magnate Ken Griffin sees the strongest dogs in the corporate pack doing the best at running up outsized returns in 2019, he says in his latest letter to investors. And from the looks of things, he’s talking about the FAANG stocks.

His $30 billion Citadel hedge fund company expects the most robust companies to do best in what he termed “the heightened volatility in financial markets.” Not, oh, value plays.

Makes sense. Although the first two months of the year have done well, a number of macro factors are disconcerting: a slowing global economy, some laggard indicators in the US, ongoing trade turmoil between Beijing and Washington, and a holy mess brewing with Britain’s misbegotten exit from the European Union.

Griffin’s brief and general letter didn’t offer any firm insights into exactly where he is taking Chicago-based Citadel. But his returns from last year, as reported by Bloomberg News, show how solidly he has lined up with the major players in the corporate arena, particularly in the tech part of it.

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His flagship, multi-strategy Wellington Fund was ahead 9% for the year. In 2018, the S&P 500 had a total return of -4.3% and, according to Hedge Fund Research, hedge funds lost 4.1%.

Among Citadel’s top equity holdings at year-end 2018, by the count of RegionalStocks.com, were Amazon (7.8%), Apple (1.9%), Alphabet (1.5%), and Facebook (1.5%). In other words, the FAANG stocks that rode high for a long time until they ran into trouble in late 2018. Of course, all of these tech titans are stuffed with cash and generate enormous profits and revenues. A lot of investors expect them to turn around, with a vengeance.

Citadel also has healthy positions in large financial stocks, such as Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup. plus leaders of the industrial segment like Boeing, a sector that happens to be doing better than tech lately. The one problematical company is Tesla, which has struggled to produce electric cars and stop producing red ink.

In 2018, says Insider Monkey, Citadel bought shares in leading lights like Alibaba, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Lowe’s.

So things are going pretty well for billionaire Griffin nowadays. He just bought a Manhattan penthouse for $238 million, a record for a home in the US. This guy thinks big, always.

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Tags: Citadel, Hedge Funds, Ken Griffin