When it comes to attracting talent, Missouri Public Schools' Craig Husting's strategy is simple: Play up the fact that the retirement system is a large institutional investor, not a public pension fund, which can be seen as subject to political pressures.
That distinction, said Craig Husting, CIO of the $55 billion Missouri Public School and Education Employee Retirement Systems, reinforces the many benefits of working at the retirement system, including the ability for early career professionals to get a jump on managing portfolios, earning a competitive salary, enjoying flexibility to support a better quality of life and meeting top investors from around the world. The mission is a selling point as well: namely, providing a secure retirement for teachers, he said.
Having sound governance and an independent board makes it all possible, he said Dec. 12 in a talk with Pensions & Investments President and Publisher Nikki Pirrello during the Future of Asset Management conference in New York, part of the Best Places to Work in Money Management program.
Missouri Public Schools was one of 123 managers recognized during the event.
"If you have good governance … I think you have a lot of things set up for you to be successful in attracting and retaining employees," he said. "We think we have one of the best governance structures in the country."
The retirement system recently took another notable step in thinking about how to deepen its pool of potential job applicants, especially in specialized areas such as credit.
Many public pension funds, he said, are located in state capitals, places that may be geographically distant from denser cities. That's why Missouri Public Schools set up a satellite office in St. Louis over a year ago to attract people who might not want to relocate to Jefferson City, where the system is based. Similar funds, such as the Illinois Teachers Retirement System, based in Springfield, Ill., opened a satellite office in Chicago, he said.
Strong governance is just as important at money managers, he said, and is something that he looks for when deciding on commitments.
A long-term relationship, quantitative evaluation and performance is important, of course. But Husting said he also considers the cohesiveness of the investment team.
"Are people happy?" he asked. "Is everyone singing from the same hymn book?"
