New Portfolio Chief for CalPERS

SACRAMENTO â€”  The California Public Employees’ Retirement System promoted Mark Anson to chief investment officer of the largest U.S. public pension fund, filling a post vacated less than a month ago.

Anson, one of four senior investment officers at CalPERS, joined the pension fund two years ago from OppenheimerFunds Inc. He currently oversees global equities, which is 60% of CalPERS’ $144-billion portfolio. Anson was a candidate for CIO last year when he lost to Daniel Szente, who left the fund in November to join money manager McMorgan & Co.

By promoting Anson, CalPERS avoids a lengthy search and gets someone already well-versed in how the fund is run, investors said. CalPERS’ CIO has to maximize returns on a vast pool of assets while answering to a 13-member board whose members don’t often get along and whose public policy and political aims can be at odds with strict performance goals.

Anson takes the top investment spot at a time when CalPERS’ ability to attract and retain experienced investment staff may be under threat because of a lawsuit brought by California Controller Kathleen Connell that seeks to impose state salary limits on the pension fund. Szente cited the lawsuit as the reason he left, saying salary caps would undermine hiring.

“My successor’s biggest challenge as far as the organization goes is to be able to hold the investment staff together,� Szente said.

Anson already has taken steps to boost CalPERS’ returns after its worst annual performance in at least 17 years, by earmarking $1 billion for hedge funds and related vehicles that try to profit whether markets fall or rise. CalPERS’ assets fell 7.2% in the year ended June 30.

In the weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Anson argued for CalPERS to buy more stocks. The pension fund moved about $5 billion out of bonds and into U.S. and European shares, a bet that paid off as markets rallied.

“We all had to be convinced that was an appropriate thing to do. We weren’t about to do it based on pure patriotism,� Szente said.

A one-time securities lawyer, Anson earned a masters and doctorate in finance from Columbia University, and a law degree from Northwestern University.