The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) announced that Chief Investment Officer Nicole Musicco will step down on September 29.

Musicco said the decision to leave CalPERS will allow her to attend to the immediate needs of family in her native home of Toronto, Canada.

“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. “However, at this time I need to prioritize those who need me the most, my family and children.”

Musicco, who joined CalPERS in the spring of 2022, has been shuttling between Toronto and Sacramento in recent weeks to help members of her large, multigenerational family.

“Nicole has brought to her work the vision and the values that we needed, the kind of approach that added real clarity and strength to our investing,” said CalPERS Chief Executive Officer Marcie Frost.“ 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 Deputy Chief Investment Officer Dan Bienvenue will serve as interim chief investment officer. Bienvenue joined CalPERS in 2004 and has held several leadership roles with the Investment Office. Prior to joining CalPERS, he was a principal and senior portfolio manager with Barclays Global Investors, leading an international equity portfolio management team responsible for $55 billion across developed and emerging markets.

“One of our guiding principles at CalPERS is to recognize the importance of our employees and their families,” said CalPERS Board of Administration President Theresa Taylor. “While we will greatly miss Nicole’s leadership, we support her decision and will keep her and her family in our thoughts. We thank Nicole for her hard work toward strengthening our members’ retirement benefits.”

Musicco is only the second woman to have led the investment operations of the nation’s largest public pension fund, which has a current market value of $463 billion.

During her tenure at CalPERS, Musicco led efforts to evolve and accelerate CalPERS programs aimed at private market investing, including new co-investing opportunities. The CalPERS Investment Office has also expanded its focus on high-value sustainable investing and is currently focused on new initiatives built around the core principles of innovation and resiliency.

Musicco also championed a $1 billion commitment in 2022 to identifying and supporting the next generation of emerging and diverse investor entrepreneurs in private markets.

With guidance from the board and chief executive officer, CalPERS officials will soon launch a global search to identify candidates for the position.

Source: Calpers