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Manager Selection

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Hires May Ng as New CIO

The investing chief at the Annie E. Casey Foundation replaces Brian O’Neil, who retired.

By Larry Light

May Ng

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has named as its new CIO May Ng, a veteran nonprofits investment official. She replaces Brian O’Neil, who led the RWJF investment effort for two decades and retired at the end of 2022.

The Johnson foundation had $14.8 billion in assets as of the end of 2021, according to its most recent financial statement. Ng starts April 17 at the nonprofit, which promotes health equality in the U.S. The philanthropic organization, founded in 1936, is named after one of the three brothers who launched Johnson & Johnson, the health-care giant.

While serving as CIO at her previous job, at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ng oversaw a $3.5 billion portfolio. Ng joined the Casey foundation in 2013 as director of public market investments and rose to CIO in 2015. She helped expand the portfolio of the Casey charitable group, which focuses on improving children’s well-being.

“We are thrilled to welcome May Ng to the foundation,” said Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Johnson foundation, in a release. “Her expertise in investment strategy and her commitment to our mission is clear. Under her leadership, we look to further our work to reduce health inequities and help build a culture of health in America.”

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Ng has a long history in endowments and foundations, having worked at the George Washington University investment office and the United Way of America. Previously in her career, she was in management consulting and corporate development. She did her undergraduate study at Williams College and then earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Princeton University.

A Chartered Financial Analyst, she currently serves on the investment committees of Williams College, the William Penn Foundation, the France-Merrick Foundation and Georgetown Day School.

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Home > News > Newsmakers > Sweden’s Largest Pension Loses More Than $1 Billion to U.S. Banking Crisis
Newsmakers

Sweden’s Largest Pension Loses More Than $1 Billion to U.S. Banking Crisis

Alecta says it held talks with Silicon Valley Bank in 2022 about liquidity concerns.
By Michael Katz



Alecta, Sweden’s biggest pension fund, said it has lost 12.1 billion krona ($1.1 billion) from its investments in Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, both of which collapsed recently and are now controlled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. 

However, the pension fund said the impact on its customers would be small, as the loss accounts for approximately 1% of Alecta’s total managed capital of more than 1 trillion krona.

Alecta said it began investing in Silicon Valley Bank in June 2019 and made its last investment in November 2022 for a total investment of 8.9 billion krona. It made its first investment in Signature Bank in January 2016 and made the last investment in July 2022 for a total investment of 3.2 billion krona.

Alecta said it found out last year that rising interest rates were having an impact on Silicon Valley Bank’s liquidity, and it held a dialogue with the bank with other investors to inquire about its plan going forward. On March 9, the bank launched a share sale that was not underwritten by any major investors, which spooked investors and led to customers quickly withdrawing their money in droves.

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“We believe that the measures were a mistake and caused what is known as a ‘bank run,’” an Alecta statement said.

The pension fund also has SEK 9.7 billion invested in American First Republic Bank, which it said has also been affected by the banking crisis, despite being “an old and stable bank with a completely different business model and low credit losses.” The bank received external funding late on March 13 after its stock fell sharply, and an Alecta statement said it expected shares to recover the following day.

Although American First Republic stock did rebound, it lost back those gains in March 15 trading and was trading at slightly less than $32 per share on that date, down from slightly more than $96 a share at the close of trading on March 9.

As for other Alecta investments, the pension fund said it currently sees “no spillover effects.”


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