Chris Ailman, the long-serving CIO of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, will retire from his post on June 30. Ailman confirmed his retirement at the CalSTRS investment committee meeting Thursday morning.
“It has been an honor to lead and guide this massive global investment trust fund for the teachers of California,” said Ailman, who in December received CIO’s Lifetime Achievement Award. “CalSTRS is truly a world-class asset manager, and we have a powerful track record of top performance at a low cost with an amazing diverse internal team.”
Under his more than two-decade tenure as CIO, CalSTRS assets grew from $109.6 billion in October 2000 to $318.8 billion as of November 30, 2023. CalSTRS under Ailman and his team posted strong returns, with the fund’s annualized return for the past three, five, 10 and 20 years being 10.1%, 8.2%, 8.7% and 8.0%, respectively, as of June 30, 2023.
“Under Christopher’s leadership, CalSTRS has weathered two challenging decades of financial market downturns and bull markets,” said Harry Keiley, chair of the CalSTRS retirement board. “He is a global leader and viewed as one of the top CIOs in the world. His legacy and biggest contribution is his commitment to diversity and developing highly skilled professionals who have performed at a high level for more than two decades. I am eternally grateful to Christopher for all that he has given to CalSTRS, and I am confident the investments team will continue to help us achieve our mission to secure the financial future of California’s educators.”
During his tenure, Ailman has been a vocal advocate for steady, long-term investing overall and a vocal leader among institutional asset owners of reducing portfolio exposure to greenhouse gas emissions.
Notable was CalSTRS’ 2022 move to reduce its holding of public companies that are carbon emitters, at a time when other public funds were banning investment with firms that opposed fossil fuel companies. Ailman at the time said CalSTRS cares about companies beyond “91 days of earnings” and is more concerned about “91 months and 91 years.”
After he retires, Ailman plans to serve as an adviser to his successor until the end of 2024 to ensure a smooth transition period. Ailman will continue to serve on boards and will advise asset owners and asset managers on the global energy transition and the path to net zero.
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