Ranji Nagaswami, New York City’s first CIO for pensions, has left her job to join the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. Nagaswami was appointed at the city office by Michael Bloomberg in 2010. Her last working day in the city office was August 21, and now Janice Emery, the former CIO at Pinnacle West Capital has taken her place, said Lauren Passalacqua, the spokeswoman for the city mayor.
Nagaswami’s primary role at New York City was to implement the changes supported by Michael Bloomberg and Comptroller John Liu. They wanted to consolidate the investment and management practices for five different pension funds run for teachers, civil service workers, firefighters, school administrators and police. But unions were opposing the plans. The funds have net asset of $123 billion.
“It was an amazing two years, and I’m just ready to move on,” Nagaswami said. She added that she will get a “senior strategist role” at Bridgewater.
“Her work has improved our investment practices and her impact will continue beyond her time with the city,” said Michael Bloomberg. “While it’s tough to see anyone go, it is not surprising that there is a lot of demand for the innovative minds we have been able to attract.”
The Westport, Connecticut-based Bridgewater has $130 billion worth of assets under management. Nagaswami, a resident of Greenwich, Connecticut, brings over 25 years of experience in asset management. Earlier, she worked at AllianceBernstein as chief investment officer, managing the blend equity and multi-asset portfolios. She co-headed the U.S. fixed income group at UBS Asset Management, before accepting the offer by New York City Mayor.
Bridgewater, one of the largest hedge funds in the world, was founded by Ray Dalio in 1976, has over 1,400 employees. Some of the biggest clients of Bridgewater are central banks, foreign governments, pension funds and endowments. By staying bearing on the global economy, Bridgewater has made big money for investors in the past few years.
