As CIO of the $7 billion Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System, Rick Dahl is a big advocate for industry reform and investment innovation. Under Dahl’s leadership, Mosers was early to alternatives, quick to invest directly in hedge funds and swift to embrace commodities. It stands out among public funds for a commitment to diversification, while avoiding many of the pitfalls that can besiege plans with complex investment approaches. Dahl, 45, who joined Mosers as an investment officer in 1993 and was promoted to CIO two years later, worked to educate the pension community on the potential conflicts of interest at investment consulting firms.
Last year, Dahl was one of the few public pension fund CIOs to speak out against the proposed ban on third-party marketers, telling the Securities and Exchange Commission that such a decision would have a negative impact on small and emerging firms that cannot afford to hire their own full-time fundraiser.
After suffering alongside most public funds in 2008, Mosers bounced back with a return of 18.5 percent last year. Even with such strong results and commitment to ethical practices, Dahl has found himself in a political firefight. In the 1990s a handful of forward-thinking public pension funds, including Mosers, embraced performance-based bonus structures, shown to improve investment results. But seeing Mosers’ investment professionals receive bonuses, even as investments declined in 2008, did not sit well with new Governor Jay Nixon. The fund has been forced to revert to a flat pay structure for all but Dahl and executive director Gary Findlay.
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