After 27 years at the Minnesota State Board of Investment, St. Paul, and an additional five years at two other institutional investors, Mansco Perry III, executive director and chief investment officer, is retiring Oct. 11 from an industry that he has seen grow exponentially.
In an interview, Mr. Perry said "the amount of pension fund assets under management (in the industry) is phenomenal."
Mr. Perry noted that the SBI's total assets — including pension fund and state funds — grew from $16.3 billion when he joined the board for the first time in 1990 to $124.7 billion as of June 30. Over the same period, pension fund assets grew from $12.4 billion to $81.3 billion.
Mr. Perry said that as the pension fund investment industry moves forward, the way portfolios are managed "will become increasingly important because of the challenges CIOs and their investment staff face given predictions of turbulent markets and lower returns."
Another challenge for pension fund CIOs is that they frequently are responsible for operations of the fund in addition to managing the portfolio, including employee management, financial management, technology and engagement with boards of trustees, he said.
"The big picture view of managing pension funds is that it is very important and underappreciated," Mr. Perry said.
He noted that "managing a pension fund is like managing a business with many moving parts but often without enough resources. If the ratio of assets under management vs. resources is lacking, it can be problematic. You need to have the acumen to recognize that you are running a business."
"A lot of what it takes to manage pension funds boils down to having appropriate resources. You need to be well-staffed on both the investment side as well as the operational side of the business," he said, noting "many smaller public pension funds are under-resourced and often have a more difficult time managing the portfolio given that their investment teams may only have a few members to manage the portfolio."
The SBI employs 34 people, of which 15 are on the investment side, Mr. Perry said, which translates to each investment staffer being responsible for oversight of between $8 billion to $9 billion.
The best part of Mr. Perry's current job has been focusing on managing the SBI's portfolios and working with the board's external money managers, he said.
Mr. Perry is finishing his second tour of duty at the St. Paul-based board.
Previously, he served as deputy assistant executive director and deputy CIO at the SBI for 18 years ending in 2008, and returned to the board in 2013 in his current roles.
He also served as CIO of St. Paul-based Macalester College's $891 million endowment from 2010 to 2013 and was CIO of the $64.6 billion Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, Baltimore, from 2008 to 2010.
Mr. Perry's successor is Jill E. Schurtz, chief investment officer and executive director of the $1.2 billion St. Paul Teachers' Retirement Fund Association.
She was appointed by the board of trustees at an Aug. 24 board meeting and was not available for comment.
As for Mr. Perry's retirement plans, he intends to focus on his health and spend more time with his family. He doesn't intend to find a new job, although he may end up serving on boards of companies, he said.
"I don't want to be a CIO or manage money," he stressed.
Mr. Perry, a baseball fanatic, said he specifically chose Oct. 11 as his departure date to coincide with watching baseball's World Series.
He may also revive his baseball memorabilia home business selling baseball souvenirs and liquidate some of his large inventory, he said.
Of the $124.7 billion in total assets the SBI managed as of June 30, $81.3 billion was in the state's combined defined benefit plans, $8.9 billion was in defined contribution plans and $34.5 billion was in other state funds.
