After 15 years with the SDCERS investment team and a career in investing, SDCERS’ longtime Chief Investment Officer Liza Crisafi celebrated a well-earned retirement at the end of July. Liza announced her retirement well in advance, allowing SDCERS to conduct an extensive national search. We are pleased to announce that Carina Coleman will be SDCERS’ new Chief Investment Officer!
As a former SDCERS Board Member (and Board President), Carina is a familiar face around SDCERS. “Carina brings technical expertise, strong business acumen, practical CIO experience, detailed knowledge of SDCERS’ investment program policies, good relationships with key SDCERS business partners, and, importantly, a leadership and soft skill set which is in close alignment with SDCERS’ core values,” said Gregg Rademacher, SDCERS CEO. We expect Carina will be joining the team on August 18th. In the interim, Senior Investment Officer Jamie Hamrick is serving as Interim CIO. Jamie, along with our entire investment team, will ensure a smooth transition.
Carina takes charge of SDCERS’ investment portfolio, which was valued at approximately $10.9 billion as of the end of the first quarter of 2022. SDCERS has a well-diversified portfolio that has achieved risk-adjusted returns in the top decile compared to similarly-sized public pension plans over the past 3, 5, and 10 years. Carina shared, “I am very excited about the opportunity to serve as CIO for SDCERS. I have enjoyed working with SDCERS as a Trustee and I look forward to leading the investment team of this well-respected organization.”
Carina Coleman, SDCERS' New Chief Investment Officer
Carina most recently served as the Director, Pension and Trust Investments, at Sempra. She earned her MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business and is a CFA and CAIA Charterholder. She also holds an MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics/International Area Studies and German Studies from UCLA. Carina has experience managing the investments of multi-billion-dollar retirement plans of varying risk profiles across multiple asset classes. She further has expertise in formulating investment policy, constructing portfolios to meet return and risk objectives, conducting investment manager due diligence, and analyzing risk and performance.
Professional recruiting firm EFL & Associates assisted in the search to fill the CIO position.