The United Auto Workers (UAW) Retiree Medical Benefits Trust’s absolute return manager has left after ten months in the role for a New York-based asset manager, CIO has learned.
Marina Mekhlis—who was 31 when included on CIO’s 2014 Forty Under Forty list—started in July as director of business development at GoldenTree Asset Management.
She brings a decade of alternatives experience to the $21 billion hedge fund, which specializes in corporate and structured credit strategies.
Mekhlis has relocated from the UAW Trust’s Ann Arbor, Michigan-based investment offices to the New York region, where she has strong roots. She earned both a business and law degree at New York University, passed the state bar exam, and spent more than three years at Rocaton Investment Advisors in Norwalk, Connecticut.
At the $52.4 billion UAW Trust—funded in 2010 by General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler—Mekhlis and her team were in the process of filling a hedge fund bucket for the young organization.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to build a major portfolio from scratch, and the scale of our mission is inspiring,” she told CIO in March. “I like a manager who is a great fundamental analyst or stock picker, plus the skills that can’t be taught–whether it’s intuition of a certain market’s dynamics or the ability to spot trends.”
The heathcare fund did not respond when asked if it had found a replacement manager for its hedge fund portfolio. GoldenTree also declined to comment on the hiring.
Related Content: Forty Under Forty: Marina Mekhlis & Power 100: UAW Trust CIO Ken Frier