Home > News > Newsmakers > Two University of California Investment Managers Replace Departees
Newsmakers

Two University of California Investment Managers Replace Departees

Samuel Kunz and Ronnie Swinkel add responsibilities after three top people leave.

By Chris Butera

The University of California Regents’ office is expanding the responsibilities of two of its executives to help cover the slack left by recent departures in the investment operation.

In addition to their other duties, Samuel Kunz, managing director of asset allocation and investment strategy, will run passive public equity investments. Ronnie Swinkels, director, public equity, will also be in charge of the active decisions. Their titles will not change. They will now report directly to the university’s chief investment officer, Jagdeep Singh Bachher.

This comes during an exodus for the office’s investment division.

Earlier this month, Eduard van Gelderen left his job as senior managing director for a gig with the Canadian Public Sector Pension Investment Board. He oversaw equities and commodities. Also, Tom Fischer, a former investment officer in charge of macro, and Scott Chan, a former senior managing director who managed global equities, left their posts in June and July. Chan will start a deputy CIO job with the $224.9 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System on August 1.

Want the latest institutional investment industry
news and insights? Sign up for CIO newsletters.

Following van Gelderen’s exit, Bachher said there were no plans to replace him. Instead, his responsibilities would be split between internal staff.

The Regents office manages the investments of the University of California’s $66.7 billion pension fund and its $11.9 billion endowment.

“We are fortunate to have such a deep and diverse talent within our office who are ready to step into new leadership roles,” said Bachher. “These moves will ensure the seamless execution of the investment strategy I have put in place over the four years I have served as the university’s chief investment officer, and reflect our commitment to grow and nurture the next generation of leaders in our industry.”

Tags: , , , ,

Home > News > Market Moves > Hedge Fund Titan Daniel Loeb Worries About Fed Hikes
Market Moves

Hedge Fund Titan Daniel Loeb Worries About Fed Hikes

Activist investor thinks aggressive short-term rate increases 'heightens' recession risk.

By Larry Light

Billionaire hedge fund operator Daniel Loeb usually looks at company fundamentals instead of the macroeconomic picture in plotting his strategy.  But the activist investor is leery that the Federal Reserve will make a mistake and “kill the patient” by over-doing interest rate increases.

While the founder and chief executive of hedge fund Third Point believes the odds of a recession next year are low, he cautioned in a letter to investors that “the calculus is more fragile than a year ago.”

Loeb noted that, at its current pace, the Fed will push short-term rates above 3% by the end of 2019—with two more hikes expected in 2018 and perhaps three more next year. Add in the impact of unloading bonds bought during quantitative easing, and that puts the effective impact at 4%, he reasoned.

“Tightening of that magnitude has always resulted in recession,” Loeb wrote. “While we believe this well-seasoned Fed understands exactly the tightrope it is walking, the risk of destruction action is not zero.”

For more stories like this, sign up for the CIO Alert newsletter.

Tags: , ,

«