The $382.4B California State Teachers’ Retirement System has appointed Nick Abel as its sustainable investment and stewardship strategies (SISS) investment director, effective Dec. 2, 2025.
He succeeds Kirsty Jenkinson, who was named senior investment director of private markets and SISS in August. Abel will report to Jenkinson in his new role.
“[Abel] is a respected leader who has driven long-term value creation and mitigated risks to our portfolio in support of our mission,” said Scott Chan, CalSTRS’ chief investment officer, in a news release. “His ability to source the best partners and transactions, create innovative structures, and draw on his international experience will help CalSTRS achieve its goal of being a global partner of choice.”
As SISS investment director, Abel will lead and manage the SISS team and oversee its portfolio, which focuses on global private asset investments that both deliver financial performance and support climate solutions. He will also guide sustainability-related collaboration across CalSTRS’ private market asset classes, oversee proxy-voting activities in alignment with the fund’s Corporate Governance Principles, engage with corporations and policymakers on CalSTRS’ Stewardship Priorities, and advance the Teachers’ Retirement Board’s net-zero portfolio emissions strategy.
Abel joined CalSTRS in 2020 as a portfolio manager for sustainable investments. Prior to that, he held roles at Wespath Investment Management, RVK, Inc., and Saturna Capital, Inc. He is an Institutional Limited Partners Association advisory committee member and has participated in several industry working groups and advisory bodies, including Ceres, the Principles for Responsible Investment, the Global Impact Investing Network, Deep Transitions Futures, and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board before its integration into the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation.
“[Abel’s] global investment experience, excellent reputation among his peers, and trusted industry partnerships make him ideal for this position,” said Jenkinson. “He has a proven track record of designing and executing complex, high-impact strategies that help us secure the financial future of California’s public educators.”
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