By David G. Barry
Elizabeth
Burton has landed.
The former chief investment officer of the Employees’ Retirement System of
the State of Hawaii (HIERS) is joining Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s
asset management arm. Burton will be a managing director and client investment
strategist at the bank’s client solutions and capital markets business. She
will be based in New York and report to Chris Kojima, global head of CSCM at
Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Burton did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Markets Group.
She left ERS in June after four years as CIO. For the year ended June 30, the
$21.9 billion system reported a 3.7% return, the top mark to date among public
pension funds. The system’s benchmark was a negative 7.91%.
In 2020-21, ERS produced 26.2%, beating its benchmark of 23.3%. During her time
as CIO, ERS grew 30% from $15.8 billion.
Burton joined ERS after serving as managing director of the Quantitative
Strategies Group at the Maryland State Retirement Agency. In that role, she was
responsible for its $4.5 billion Absolute Return Portfolio and for risk
management oversight of the then $55 billion plan.
Her background
also includes owning a strategic advisory practice, serving as a senior
economist with Criterion Economics, being a consultant at First Annapolis, and
holding roles with a fund of hedge funds, a risk management firm, and a
quant-focused fund of hedge funds.
