Girard Miller is resigning as chief investment officer of the $13 billion Orange County Employees Retirement System, effective Jan. 5, said a news release from the pension fund obtained by Pensions & Investments.
OCERS' human resources department will conduct a national search for Mr. Miller's replacement in early 2017, the release says. In the interim, the CIO responsibilities will be handled by Shanta Chary, director of investment operations, together with the rest of the investment team as well as its general consultant Meketa Investment Group and strategic portfolio and risk consultant Pension Consulting Alliance.
OCERS hired Mr. Miller, a nationally known expert on public pension issues, in 2012. The news release said Mr. Miller has indicated that after the transition and “an overdue vacation,” he expects to return to the private-sector investment management and advisory industry.
Neither Mr. Miller nor the retirement system's CEO, Steve Delaney, returned phone calls by press time.
The pension fund's board and officials have been looking at restructuring its portfolio, including trimming its $1.6 billion absolute-return portfolio. Under Mr. Miller's direction, the pension fund has also made large investments in alternative fixed-income strategies such as direct lending.
“OCERS has been well-served by Girard's outstanding investment skills and passion for and pride in his work,” Mr. Delaney said in a statement.
Mr. Miller had served as chief operating officer of Janus Capital Group, president and CEO of ICMA-RC and head of Fidelity Investments' public funds group before taking on the CIO role at Orange County.
