The California Public Employees' Retirement System today announced that Yu Ben Meng has been selected as the pension fund's new chief investment officer (CIO).
Meng is returning to CalPERS to assume the CIO role and will report to CalPERS chief executive officer Marcie Frost.
"We are so pleased to welcome Ben back to CalPERS," Frost said. "Ben's strong investment background makes him well-suited to lead our investment strategy. He understands the need to drive investment returns to help us achieve a fully funded system."
Meng, a United States citizen born in China, will oversee an Investment Office of nearly 400 employees and be responsible for investment policies, risk management, corporate governance standards, and environmental, social, and governance strategies. He will implement the asset allocation set by the CalPERS board, and manage a $360 billion investment portfolio comprising public and private investments. A start date has yet to be determined.
"During his time with CalPERS, Ben acquired a deep understanding of the asset and liability management process that has become so important to achieving our goals," Frost said. "He knows the complexities of our system and can hit the ground running."
Meng, 48, is returning to CalPERS after serving as the Deputy CIO at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) for the past three years.
Prior to SAFE, Meng was at CalPERS for seven years with his last role as the investment director of Asset Allocation. He also was a portfolio manager in fixed income.
Before joining CalPERS in 2008, Meng worked at Barclays Global Investors as a senior portfolio manager, Lehman Brothers as a risk officer, and Morgan Stanley as a fixed income trader.
He holds a master's degree in financial engineering from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, and a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of California, Davis. He also serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Investment Management.
In 2014, he was the recipient of the Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching at the Haas School of Business.
Meng replaces Ted Eliopoulos, who is leaving CalPERS to relocate to New York.
Korn Ferry, a global recruitment firm, assisted in the search for the position.
