The $556.2B California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has appointed Mascha Canio managing investment director for its private debt portfolio.
Canio will take the reins of the private debt portfolio from Anton Orlich, managing investment director of the private equity portfolio and who has led the private debt portfolio on an interim basis for the past year.
She joins CalPERS from the $17B Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM, where she served nine years as head of credit and insurance-linked investments. Before advancing to that role, she was PGGM’s head of structured credit for 10 years.
Prior to her tenure with PGGM Corp., Canio served as head of Europe at Octagon Credit Investors, a U.S.-based corporate credit investment advising firm. There, she was responsible for setting up the firm’s European office, managing its investments in leveraged bank loans and high-yield bonds within the European market.
Canio began her career in 1991 at Shell Pension Fund in the Netherlands, where she quickly rose through the ranks to become a senior member of the fixed income team. As a fund manager, she actively managed a portfolio in government debt, corporate bonds, and emerging markets debt.
“Mascha will bring a wealth of talent and experience to her new role,” said CalPERS’ chief investment officer Stephen Gilmore. “She’s spent a career working to improve returns for pension funds, and managed portfolios across different asset classes. These experiences and her keen understanding of credit markets will allow us to build on the success of our private debt program.”
CalPERS’ private debt portfolio earned a 12.8% return for the 2024-25 fiscal year.
