By David G. Barry
Herman
Bril, the former chief investment officer and head of the investment
management division for the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF),
has a new role.
Bril, according to his LinkedIn profile, is now a managing director and head of
responsible investment for the Public Sector Pension Investment Board,
one of Canada’s largest pension funds
.
Bril comes to PSP Investments after one year at Arabesque Asset Management,
where he was CEO. Based in London, Arabesque is an independent, global asset
management firm utilizing artificial intelligence and sustainability research. Bril
joined Arabesque after leaving the UNJSPF in June 2021.
Bril spent five years as CIO at the UNJSPF. According to the most recently
available annual report, UNJSPF at the end of 2020 had assets under management
of $81.5 billion. The fund has more than 134,000 participants and more than
80,000 beneficiaries.
Prior to taking on the CIO role with UNJSPF, Bril was managing director and
group CFO for Cardano, a London-based risk and investment specialist that provides
fiduciary and investment advisory services to pension schemes.
Bril’s arrival at PSP comes on the heels of the pension fund’s naming Deborah
K. Orida as its new president and CEO. She succeeds Neil Cunningham,
who earlier this year announced his intent to retire in March 2023. When Orida
starts her new role on Sept. 1, Cunningham will become vice chair and special
advisor to the president and CEO. PSP has CA$230.5 billion ($178.5 billion)
under management.
For the fiscal year ended
March 31, PSP Investments posted a 10.9% return and grew assets under
management by 12.7%. Based in Ottawa, PSP was established in 1999 and manages
and invests capital transferred to it by the Government of Canada for the
pension plans of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police, and the Reserve Force. It has its principal business
office in Montreal and offices in New York, London and Hong Kong.