Rhode Island Names Alec Stais as CIO
Goldman Sachs Asset Management managing director replaces interim CIO Tim Nguyen.
Alec Stais has been named Rhode Island’s chief investment officer, tasked with overseeing the day-to-day administration of the treasury’s investment office, including the state’s $7.9 billion employee retirement system.
Stais joins the Rhode Island Treasury from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he worked for more than 20 years, most recently as a managing director. Prior to Goldman Sachs, Stais was a vice president at MetLife, where he worked for 10 years. He earned his MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Stais replaces Tim Nguyen, who had been the state’s interim CIO since June 2016 when former CIO Anne Marie Fink stepped down.
It will be Stais’ job to make recommendations to the State Investment Commission (SIC), and implement approved policies and strategies. The CIO is also responsible for serving as the in-house investment expert to the general treasurer, and the SIC, providing information and advice on asset allocation, portfolio structure, and investment strategies.
Rhode Island’s pension fund had a net return of 7.4% in 2016, earning it more than $530 million in investment gains, which was the most over the past three years.