Reuters: U.S.: New York state pension fund taps Fuller as CIO

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New York state pension fund taps Fuller as CIO Jul 27th 2012, 17:52 By Svea Herbst-Bayliss BOSTON | Fri Jul 27, 2012 1:52pm EDT BOSTON (Reuters) - New York has hired investment veteran Vicki Fuller to oversee the state's $150 billion pension fund as its new chief investment officer, the state's comptroller said on Friday in a news release. Fuller moves to the pension fund from the private sector and arrives at a time when many of these funds are struggling to boost returns in the midst of volatile markets and forecasts by experts for lower returns. Fuller, who earned an MBA from the University of Chicago, spent years at AllianceBernstein building and managing investment teams, New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement. She will earn $300,000 a year, far less than many portfolio managers on Wall Street who oversee only a fraction of the money Fuller will be responsible for. Indeed many top pension fund managers have complained privately how difficult it is to attract top talent when salaries are relatively modest in the public sector compared with the private sector. It took New York nearly one year to fill the position and other states are also searching for investment staff. Massachusetts is looking for a chief investment officer to run its $50 billion fund after Stanley Mavromates moved to the private sector in June. The state is also looking to hire a specialist in hedge funds after it terminated most of its fund of funds managers to save costs. Fuller's predecessor, Raudline Etienne, left the New York fund nearly a year ago for a position with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's global strategy company, Albright Stonebridge Group. Moving to one of the biggest state pension funds in the United States will be a challenge for Fuller, especially when many pension funds are furiously trying to cut costs while seeking alternative investments to help boost performance and smooth returns. Earlier this month, New York posted relatively enviable returns for its last fiscal year, reporting a 6 percent increase thanks in part to the fact the year closed at the end of March, a few months earlier than other pension fund's fiscal years. It therefore missed some sharp market declines. The California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) - America's largest public pension fund with $233 billion - returned only 1 percent on its investments in the year that ended on June 30. New York State has invested with some of the industry's most prominent hedge funds, including John Paulson's Paulson & Co. (Reporting By Svea Herbst-Bayliss; editing by Andre Grenon) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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