Home > News > Manager Selection > Illinois Teachers’ Names Ghiané Jones as Deputy CIO
Manager Selection

Illinois Teachers’ Names Ghiané Jones as Deputy CIO

Previously an investment consultant with Meketa, Jones started in the newly created position on October 10.

By Matt Toledo

The Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois has filled its newly created role of deputy CIO by announcing the hire of Ghiané Jones, who started on October 10.

“Ghiané has a strong background in asset allocation, knows the challenges facing Illinois public plans well, and has worked on and is committed to diversity programs such as ours, “said Stan Rupnik, TRS executive director and CIO, in a statement. “I look forward to working with her and adding her leadership and experience within our investment program.”

Jones was previously a managing principal in investment consultant at Meketa Investment Group. Prior to that, she held roles at Invesco, Northern Trust and Goldman Sachs. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Hamilton College.

The Illinois fund is the 42nd largest pension system in the U.S., with $67 billion in assets under management as of August 31, according to the firm. It provides retirement, disability coverage and other benefits to teachers, administrators and other public-school employees in the state, outside of Chicago.

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Home > News > Asset Allocation > Mature Asset Managers Increase Hedge Fund Market Share to 84%
Asset Allocation

Mature Asset Managers Increase Hedge Fund Market Share to 84%

Seward & Kissel’s annual report based on fund side letters attributed the gain to a fundraising advantage over newer firms trying to establish a toehold. 
By Matt Toledo



Institutional investors are increasingly allocating their hedge fund assets to managers that have been in business for at least two years, according to a survey of clients’ hedge fund side letters by Seward & Kissel LLP. 

The report also found that among institutional investors, corporate pension funds and government investors only allocated to mature (defined as those in business for at least two years) managers.  

The law firm released its eighth annual study of important trends in the hedge fund community by examining side letters negotiated by the firm’s hedge fund clients from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. 

“The Seward & Kissel 2022/23 Hedge Fund Side Letter Study demonstrates strategic choices being made by hedge fund managers and their investor base alike,” said Kevin Neubauer, a partner in the investment management group at Seward & Kissel, in a statement provided to CIO.  

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The study found an increase in the representation of mature managers to 84%, up from 78% in 2021-22 and 74% in 2019-20. The representation of newer managers hit a low point in the 2022-23 survey year at 16%, down from 22% in the last survey and from 26% at its height in 2019-20.  

The decline in the representation of newer managers was attributed to the difficult fundraising environment, the firm concluded.  

The largest category of side letter investors surveyed by the firm were fund-of-funds, at 54% of all side letter investors, up from 51% in last year’s study. Endowments and government plans each made up 12% of side letter investors. High-net-worth individuals and family offices ranked fourth, at 8%. Nonprofit institutions and corporate pension plans were last with 7% each. 

Seward & Kissel found that 60% of newer fund managers (businesses less than two years old) had side letter agreements with fund-of-funds, and 20% had them with high-net-worth individuals and family offices. According to the study, government plans made the largest investments, at more than $10 million.  

Across the firm’s clients, the AUM of mature managers increased to $7 billion from $4 billion year-over-year, while the AUM of newer managers declined to $170 million this year from $210 million in 2021-22.

According to the firm, the number of side letter agreements has decreased due to the increase in representation by mature managers, who are less likely to negotiate business terms. There was a corresponding decrease in business terms, including most-favored-nation clauses, fee discounts and capacity rights, for more inexperienced managers. 

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