Nicole Musicco is stepping down as chief investment officer of the $463.6 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System on Sept. 29.
Ms. Musicco is leaving the largest public pension fund in the country less than two years after taking the job "to attend to the immediate needs of family in her native home of Toronto, Canada," according to a CalPERS news release.
Deputy CIO Dan Bienvenue will serve as interim CIO.
"Leading the CalPERS investment office has been an honor, and I am proud of the work my team has done to fulfill the retirement promises made to the 2 million Californians who have spent their lives in public service," Musicco said in the release. "However, at this time I need to prioritize those who need me the most, my family and children."
"While it will be hard to see her go, we know it's the right decision to put her family first and we applaud the strength it took to do so," CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost said in the release.
CalPERS Board of Administration President Theresa Taylor stated in the release: "while we will greatly miss Nicole's leadership, we support her decision and will keep her and her family in our thoughts."
CalPERS also noted in the release that with guidance from the board and Frost, CalPERS officials "will soon launch a global search to identify candidates for the position."
A spokesperson for CalPERS said the fund will hold a board meeting on Sept. 18 in which Musicco, Frost and Taylor will all make comments.
Musicco took over as CIO in March 2022, succeeding Yu "Ben" Meng, who resigned in August 2020 following questions over some of his personal stock holdings.
In a September 2022, Musicco told the fund's investment committee that she lamented the fund's recent underperformance and said CalPERS had been underallocated to growth assets of public and private equity, especially private equity which was "really put on hold" between 2009 and 2018.
The inconsistent commitment pace to private equity, she noted, cost the pension fund an estimated $11 billion to $18 billion in missed opportunities for investment returns, between 2009 and 2018.
A CalPERS spokesperson said the fund will not make any further comments at this time.
