Minnesota State Board of Investment Names Jill Schurtz CIO

The Minnesota State Board of Investment has named Jill Schurtz to succeed the departing Mansco Perry III as executive director and CIO to manage the board’s $124.8 billion in state pension and other funds, according to a news release.

In December of last year, Perry announced that he would be retiring at the end of 2022 after having led the pension fund since 2013. Under his stewardship, the state’s pension fund has nearly doubled from $68 billion. The Minnesota SBI is responsible for selecting the investments for the pension plan assets of the Minnesota State Retirement System.

Schurtz joins the Minnesota SBI from the St. Paul Teachers’ Retirement Fund Association, where she was CIO and executive director beginning in 2014, and managed the fund’s $1.2 billion investment program and $120 million of annual pension benefits. Prior to St. Paul, Schurtz was CEO of New York-based asset management firm Robeco-Sage, having been promoted from chief operating officer. Before that, she was a director at Knight Equity Markets, and prior to that was an attorney at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

She was also vice president, investment banking at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray, and before embarking on a financial career was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army for seven years, where she rose to the rank of captain. Schurtz is currently a member of construction engineering firm M.A. Mortenson’s board of directors and chair of its investment committee, and is a member of Alerus’ board of directors. She is also on financial planner Okabena Investment Services’ investment advisory committee.

Schurtz is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, and received her law degree from Columbia Law School.

Perry, who was given CIO’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, leaves after a storied career. When comparing his returns with other public pension funds with at least $20 billion, Perry’s plan has been ranked in the top 1% for the past 10 years, according to the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service.