Executives at some large pension systems are going back to school to find the next generation of investment professionals.
Executives in the investment offices of the $200.7 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, are interviewing possible candidates for its new MBA students' fellowship program at University of California, Davis, said Brad Pacheco, CalPERS spokesman. They don't know yet how many students will be chosen.
Also, officials at the $11.5 billion New Mexico State Investment Council are considering creating a $5 million fund for students at the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University to give them real-world investment management experience, said Charles Wollmann, public information officer for the Santa Fe-based council. Officials are working on policies and determining whether they would need legislative approval, he said.
The California program, announced in October, is a joint endeavor by CalPERS, UC-Davis and the $133 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System, Sacramento. Selected students in the university's Graduate School of Management will work in the investment offices of CalPERS and CalSTRS in the areas of global equity, fixed income, private equity and corporate governance and corporate responsibility. In exchange, the two pension systems will gain access to budding investment professionals at the nationally ranked MBA program.
