CalPERS Holds Second-Round Interviews for New CIO

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) held second-round interviews for the fund’s open chief investment officer position this Tuesday. The pension fund has been without a CIO for over a year, with Dan Bienvenue currently serving as interim chief investment officer. The previous CIO, Ben Meng, resigned following conflict-of-interest charges.

CalPERS is conducting these interviews in private, and the names of the candidates have not been revealed to the public. A final decision is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, with the goal of having the candidate start the position before or during March 2022.

A CalPERS board subcommittee conducted first-round interviews in early November. For the second-round interviews, each candidate was allotted two hours to speak in front of the board. Candidates began their interviews with a 45-minute prepared presentation about their qualifications. For the second part of their interviews, they answered six additional follow-up questions from board members.

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CalPERS tried to look for a chief investment officer last year, but the pension could not find a replacement. In March, the fund stated in a press release that the pandemic had significantly hindered its search process.

“Potential candidates expressed to us that they were reluctant to move their families during the pandemic. In addition, it became clear during the process that we need to provide greater clarity regarding the position’s compensation and incentive structure,” the press release stated.

This time around, CalPERS hired an executive search firm, Dore Partnership, to assist with its hiring search. The firm is known in the industry for helping find new chief investment officers and other investment staff.

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Tags: CalPERS, CIO, Dan Bienvenue, Dore Partnership, Hiring, Marcie Frost, Pension

CIO-121721-UK Regulator Anoints Clara-Pensions as First DB Superfund-id1188565596

The UK’s workplace pension watchdog has approved the first new defined benefit (DB) consolidation vehicle—also known as a superfund—to meet the regulator’s standards of governance and administration.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) said it has assessed London-based Clara-Pensions’ model, its governance structure, its key personnel, and its financial sustainability, among other criteria, and made it the first—and currently only—pension on its list of approved superfunds.

The list includes any superfund that has been assessed by TPR and meets several criteria, such as good governance, being run by “fit and proper people,” and being backed by adequate capital.

“Potential customers of a superfund on our list can have the confidence that the scheme has been through a rigorous assessment process,” Nicola Parish, TPR’s executive director of frontline regulation, said in a statement. “It is vital, however, that trustees and employers still carry out their own thorough due diligence to ensure they are confident a superfund is the right option for their particular scheme and members.”

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TPR launched its interim regime for superfunds in June 2020 and then published guidance for trustees and employers considering a transfer to a superfund in October of that year. Superfunds can ask the regulator to be assessed, and they will be added to TPR’s list if they meet its expectations.

Superfunds combine several corporate pension plans and are intended to run more efficiently and be less expensive than the companies that set them up. They replace a DB plan’s sponsoring employer with a capital-backed vehicle or a special purpose vehicle (SPV). The vehicles consolidate existing plans and create a large retirement savings fund. The plan sponsors pass a plan’s assets and liabilities to the superfund, and may have to pay into the plan to enable the deal to happen, and outside investors will also put money in.

“This is a strong vote of confidence in both our model and the consolidation idea,” said Lawrence Churchill, chair of Clara-Pensions Group. “It’s good news for pension scheme members, confirming consolidation as a safe way to improve pension outcomes.”

Clara said it has appointed Kempen Capital Management as its fiduciary manager, confirmed Hymans Robertson as the plan administrator, and doubled its team during the past six months.