CalPERS CIO to Take Top Spot at UK Money Manager

October 27, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The chief investment officer of the nation's largest public pension fund has stepped down to take a new post as head of a London-based institutional fund manager.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and Hermes announced that Mark J.P. Anson was set to leave the $196-billion CalPERS to become chief executive officer of Hermes. Anson is expected to formally take the new post early next year,succeeding Tony Watson at Hermes.

A CalPERS news release said that the fund under Anson became the first public pension program to pursue environmental investment initiatives aimed at achieving positive financial returns while fostering sustainable growth and sound environmental practices. Under Anson, CalPERS’ investment and corporate governance agendas helped shape market reform initiatives to tackle egregious executive compensation programs, enhance transparency of corporate environmental liabilities, and strengthen hedge fund regulations, the announcement said.

Anson joined CalPERS in October 1999 as Senior Principal Investment Officer for the System’s domestic equity program. He was promoted nine months later to the position of Senior Investment Officer for Equities. He was named CalPERS Chief Investment Officer in December 2001 (See Mark Anson to Fill CIO Slot at CalPERS ).

The fund’s announcement Thursday said its Board will meet to discuss steps to replace Anson in November. The fund’s Chief Investment Officer oversees a 200-member investment staff and implements investment strategies for overall asset allocation, public and private equity, fixed income and real estate investments.

Anson’s new employers were effusive about him Thursday. “He has the ability to think strategically; he has built a team at CalPERS which has delivered outstanding investment performance; and he has driven the organization forward into new asset classes and he has built up a significant number of 3rd party mandates,” said Richard Bernays, Chairman of Hermes, in a statement.

align=”left”>Hermes is a pension fund investment manager, independent of any broader financial services organization. Hermes currently invests over £58bn (as at 09/30/05) on behalf of over 220 clients including pension funds, insurance companies, government entities and financial institutions, as well as charities and endowments. However, Hermes’ largest client is the BT Pension Scheme (BTPS).

More information on Hermes is here .

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