CalPERS Hires Director of Investment Management Engagement

The $312 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has hired a new director responsible for coordination across its asset classes. Clinton Stevenson will step in as investment director of the fund’s investment management engagement programs (IMEP). Stevenson will be responsible for executing a plan announced last year to commit $11 billion to emerging and transition managers.

The IMEP was previously headed by Laurie Weir, who retired at the end of 2016, according to a fund spokeswoman. Stevenson has more than 35 years of experience in the investment industry, including 30 years at the Ford Foundation, where he served as the director of investment administration. He also founded a firm that advised nonprofit institutions on the structure, management, and governance of their investment programs.

CalPERS announced a plan to commit $11 billion to emerging and transition managers last June, an effort that Stevenson will now lead. CalPERS defines transition managers as firms that have had early-stage success within the fund’s emerging manager program or elsewhere. Emerging managers are defined as newly formed or relatively small investment firms.

The investment manager engagement programs, formerly known as targeted investment programs, provide total fund coordination across all asset classes, according to the spokeswoman. Specific areas of focus include emerging and transition managers, responsible contracting, California investment initiatives, and diversity and inclusion efforts. IMEP is also responsible for integrating best practice external manager monitoring and evaluation processes to ensure a consistent and transparent system that results in reduced risk, cost, and complexity for the fund.

By Levi Davis