SAN MATEO COUNTY EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION
A Component Unit of the County of San Mateo
invites resumes for the position of

CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer and receiving general direction from the SamCERA Retirement Board, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) serves as a member of the senior management team. The CIO’s primary responsibility is management of the retirement association trust funds invested in stocks, bonds, real estate and alternative investment categories. In addition, the CIO works closely with the Board-selected investment consultant and supervises a current staff of one.

Essential responsibilities of the CIO include:

• Develop and execute a continuous plan of investment practices and formulate investment philosophy and strategies for the retirement association;
• Ensure the Board’s asset allocation plan is properly maintained; 
• Make recommendations to the Board of Retirement on investment policies and strategies designed to provide maximum risk adjusted return to the retirement association in consideration of the liabilities;
• Evaluate reports on various investments and prepare special analyses of portfolio investments;
• Direct the analysis, research and investigation connected with a variety of financial transactions, and direct staff oversight of externally managed separate and comingled accounts;
• Maintain close liaison with outside investment managers and advisors with respect to the retirement association investment portfolio;
• Work with investment consultants with respect to the acquisition, disposition or transfer of common stocks, bonds or other securities;
• Make recommendations to the Board of Retirement using input from outside consultants and staff, and study and analyze investment trends;
• Develop RFPs and analyze bids for the Plan Custodian Bank, Actuary and Consultant;
• Individually or through staff, direct a variety of financial transactions in the following asset classes: common stocks, bonds, real estate and alternative investment partnerships;
• Initiate preparation of investment management agreements in order to protect the interest of the retirement association;
• Direct the preparation of financial transaction records and submit reports on Investment Division activities to the Board of Retirement;
• Participate in the selection, evaluation and termination of investment advisors, consultants and custodian banks;
• Represent the SamCERA's investment program to employee groups, Board of Supervisors, and representatives of the financial services community;
• Participate and maintain contacts with other institutional investors and investment managers;
• Stay abreast of and participate in the development of best practices in the investment and financial industry;
• Direct the activities of the Investment Division which includes recruiting, administering, planning, coordinating and evaluating the activities of a staff engaged in the analysis and transfer of assets, securities and limited partnerships.

Ideal Candidate:

The ideal candidate for CIO will be a highly qualified investment professional and have an in-depth professional knowledge of:

• Securities transaction principles and practices;
• Principles of portfolio theory, management and asset allocation;
• Cash flow analysis for investment portfolio activities;
• Global economics, currencies and exchange rates, capital markets
  and interest rates;
• Asset classes to include domestic and international equities, domestic
  and global fixed income, money market and financial derivative
  instruments, institutional real estate and alternative investments;
• Risk management techniques and theory;
• Federal, state and local laws governing retirement benefits, plans
  and investments;
• Money and banking as applied to investment management.

The ideal candidate will have a Master’s degree in finance, business administration, public administration,
economics or related field; hold a certification as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA); and have ten (10) years of full-time paid professional experience in leading investment staff in directing investments or investment policy for a retirement system or corporate pension fund, endowment, foundation or investment organization with assets in excess of five hundred million dollars.