News Briefs

Fund promotes managing director to 

chief investment officer role

TEXPERS Staff Report

Come spring, Casey Wolf will step into the chief investment officer position at the Texas County and District Retirement System.

Casey Wolf

Wolf will take over the role from current CIO Paul Williams, who recently announced his planned retirement, ending a 22-year career with the fund.

Wolf will come to the job with experience. He currently is the fund’s managing director. In the role, he manages the system’s hedge fund and opportunistic credit portfolios and works on existing and potential investments. Wolf worked for Williams during the last six years. The fund announced Wolf’s promotion in a Dec. 7 news release.

He says Williams’ leadership and thoughtful insights are instrumental to the success of the fund, which had grown from $7 billion in 1999 when Williams became the fund’s CIO to more than $29 billion today.

“I look forward to continuing his legacy and vision for TCDRS and for the opportunity to work with our trustees, managers, advisors, and staff in managing TCDRS’ investments in a thoughtful and prudent manner,” he says the news release.

Paul Williams

During his career, Williams transitioned the TCDRS from an all bonds portfolio to a diversified portfolio that funds 80 cents of every benefit dollar paid to the system’s retirees. The investment practices he started also enabled the fund to meet its long-term investment goals and regularly surpass industry-established benchmarks, according to the system’s news release.

Williams says his time working with the fund’s trustees, executive staff and investment staff, has been a privilege.

“One of the great things about working at TCDRS is seeing people retire with the security their retirement plan provides,” he says. “I look forward to joining them.”

Williams has had an impressive track record despite the volatility of the markets during the last 20 years, says Robert Eckels, the fund’s board chairman.

“The board appreciates Paul’s leadership and foresight,” he says. “Fortunately we’ve been able to fill the position with a strong, experienced leader like Casey Wolf.”

Texas County and District Retirement System is a multi-billion dollar trust with more than 735 participating counties and districts. The fund has more than 282,000 members.

In other Texas pension news:

Trustee re-elected to board seat by acclamation

Ray Wood is keeping his place as trustee of the Wichita Falls Firemen’s Relief and Retirement Fund.

Wood, a lieutenant with the Wichita Falls Fire Department, was re-elected without opposition. His next three-year term beings Jan. 1.

Wood has served as a trustee since 2012 and was chairman of the board last year. His current term ends Dec. 31.

Fund selects lobbyists to defend public pensions

Trustees with the El Paso Firemen and Policemen’s Pension Fund approved a legislative consultant contract with Lisa Hughes and Pat Haggerty during its Oct. 18 board meeting.

The contract is for a two-year term. The lobbyists have been under contract with the fund for four years.

Lobbyists use political contacts, persuasion and public relations skills to represent the interests of organizations. Because defined benefit plans have been under attack at the state and national level, Tyler Grossman, the El Paso fund’s executive director, says having legislative consults is important.

Tell us what’s happening at your fund. To submit an item for the TEXPERS News Briefs, email TEXPERS Communication Manager Allen Jones at allen@texpers.org.