The Idaho Public Employee Retirement System (PERSI) is
on the verge of naming a new chief investment officer to replace the retiring Bob
Maynard.

Donald Drum, the $20.9 billion fund’s executive director, said the PERSI
board has “made a decision” and extended an offer to the candidate. He said the
announcement will likely come next week. Korn Ferry has overseen the search.

Maynard announced in the summer of 2021 that he would retire in September 2022.
His last day is Sept. 30. Maynard has been with PERSI since 1992.

For the fiscal year ended June 30, PERSI reported a negative 9.5%, beating its
benchmark of negative 13.1%. It was the fourth-worst return in the pension
fund’s history, besting only 1970 when it had a loss of 15.4%, and 1974 and
2009, when the system was down 16%. In contrast, for the fiscal year ended June
30, 2021, PERSI had a 27.6% return.

With a new CIO, PERSI would join a growing list of state public pension plans
that have named new CIOs in 2022. The list includes the New Hampshire
Retirement System (NHRS), Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI), Kentucky
Public Pensions Authority (KPPA), the California Public Employees Retirement
System (CalPERS), the Washington State Investment Board (WSIB), the New Jersey
Division of Investment, the State of Rhode Island, the Virginia Retirement
System (VRS), the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico (PERA),
and the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS).

The appointment means the list of state public pension funds actively seeking a
new CIO would drop to four: the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’
Retirement System, the Employees’ Retirement System of the State of Hawaii, the
North Dakota State Department of Trust Lands, and the Kansas Public
Employees Retirement System.