California Pension Fund Names Gaurav Patankar CIO

The Merced County Employees’ Retirement Association in California named Gaurav Patankar as its first CIO, effective July 17.

According to the agenda from the public employee retirement system pension fund’s July 27 meeting, Patankar will start out with an annual salary of $250,000 and a one-time, non-pensionable signing bonus of $10,000.

Patankar joins the Central California pension fund from Bloomberg, where he was head of its alternative investment strategy. While at Bloomberg, he was responsible for building and triangulating the company’s value proposition as a data-driven thought leader and unconflicted OCIO partner for asset owners.

According to Stanford University’s Stanford Research Initiative on Long-Term Investing, where Patankar is currently a board member, he has invested and allocated capital worldwide and across multiple asset classes during his more than 20-year investment career.

Never miss a story — sign up for CIO newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest institutional investment industry news. 

Prior to Bloomberg, Patankar held senior positions at Lockheed Martin Pensions, Millennium Partners, The Boston Co. & 3i India. He is also the managing partner of Mission1 Investments LLC, an impact-focused, early-stage investor in fintech; is a non-executive vice chairman on the board of Shriram AMC Ltd.; and is a co-founder and non-executive board member of Niyogin Fintech Ltd. He is also a Special Investment Committee member at the UB Foundation, which supports the University at Buffalo.

Patankar earned his bachelor’s degree in electronics and telecommunications engineering at the University of Mumbai, an MBA. in finance and strategy at the University at Buffalo and a Ph.D. in social economics and governance at the University of Pune.

“It is rare to find a group of people where competence, collaboration and coherence can co-exist. It is an honor to join and help support the mission of MercedCERA,” Patankar said in an emailed statement. “I look forward to working with the MercedCERA board and team and using my investment experience to serve in the most effective way possible.”

The MercedCERA pension fund manages $1.1 billion in assets and has a target allocation of 22% domestic equities, 15% private equity, 11% each domestic fixed income and international equities, 10% hedge funds, 8% emerging markets equities, 8% real estate and 5% each in direct lending, opportunistic credit and real assets.

AFL-CIO Investment Vehicle Names New President

Hamilton Lane Names New CFO in Leadership Shuffle

Tags: 3i India, Bloomberg, CIO, Gaurav Patankar, Lockheed Martin Pensions, Merced County Employees’ Retirement Association, Millennium Partners, The Boston Company

Ben Samild has been promoted to CIO of Future Fund, Australia’s sovereign wealth fund. He assumes CIO responsibilities from Future Fund CEO Raphael Arndt, who has acted in the role since June 2022.

Ben Samild

Samild is a 10-year veteran of the Future Fund and had been deputy CIO since 2021. In the new position, he will lead the 90-person investment team overseeing more than A$250 billion ($163.9 billion) in investments.

Future Fund Board of Guardians Chair Peter Costello said Samild’s appointment highlights the depth of talent in Future Fund’s investment team and represents continuity in the fund’s long-term focus.

“Ben brings a strong understanding of the Future Fund as a long-term investor,” Costello said in a statement. “He has played an important role in supporting the board’s focus on generating returns while managing risk and I am pleased that he will now step up to lead the investment program.”

Never miss a story — sign up for CIO newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest institutional investment industry news. 

“Globally, inflation remains higher than is desirable and interest rates have continued to rise, while fiscal policy remains accommodative and productivity growth is low,” Costello’s statement continued. “This creates a challenging environment for investors, and in his new role, Ben will work closely with the board to navigate this environment.”

Arndt also commented: “Ben has significantly contributed to the direction and performance of the portfolio and has driven our whole portfolio investment approach. I look forward to our strong investment performance continuing under his leadership.”

Samild said he is honored to take on the challenge of leading the investment team.

“I am very passionate about the role the Future Fund plays and have a great deal of respect and admiration for the people who work here,” he said. “Having spent a significant amount of time leading the research and strategic orientation on the impact of contemporary global challenges to the investment environment, I am very excited to be able to steward the portfolio at this critical juncture.”

Following Samild’s promotion, Future Fund’s head of overlays, Hugh Murray, has been appointed acting deputy CIO for portfolio construction. Alicia Gregory will remain deputy CIO for private markets.

“Alicia and Hugh have both been long-term leaders and excellent contributors to the Future Fund and will provide Ben with just the support he needs to take the investment program forward,” Arndt said in a statement.

This article initially appeared in our sister publication, Financial Standard, which, like CIO, is owned by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.

Tags: Alicia Gregory, Australia Future Fund, Ben Samild, Hugh Murray, Raphael Arndt