Ontario Teachers’ Ex-CIO Joins Asset Manager

Neil Petroff (Art by Chris Buzelli)Neil Petroff, the former CIO of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), has joined Canadian alternatives investment firm Northwater Capital Management.

Petroff stepped down from OTPP on June 1 after six years as CIO, and 22 years in total, at the C$141 billion ($107.6 billion) pension fund. He became vice-chair of Toronto-based Northwater on October 1.

David Patterson, chair and CEO of Northwater, described Petroff as “a truly world-class investment professional” whose “substantial experience and expertise will be invaluable to Northwater and its clients.”

Northwater claims to have been the first Canadian asset manager to provide access to strategies such as funds-of-hedge-funds, risk parity, liquid alternatives, and synthetic indexing. It is currently marketing an intellectual property fund and “fluid strategies” portfolios of liquid alternatives.