Wilshire Consulting, the advisory and outsourced-CIO (OCIO) arm of Wilshire Associates, has named Steven Foresti as its CIO.
A Wilshire veteran, Foresti has assumed investment chief responsibilities in addition to remaining as head of the firm’s research group, where he oversees strategic investment research and asset allocation modeling.
The new role streamlines Foresti’s ability to translate research into “actionable recommendations” for consulting and OCIO clients, the firm said.
“Steve has been deeply involved in developing Wilshire’s capital market assumptions and publishing strategic investment research on behalf of Wilshire clients,” said Julia Bonafede, Wilshire Consulting’s president. “In many ways, he has performed the activities of a CIO for years and his appointment simply formalizes his responsibilities.”
According CIO’s 2015 OCIO Buyer’s Guide, Wilshire had 10 full discretionary OCIO clients with a total of $6.96 billion under management as of September 30, 2014. A large majority ($6.76 billion) of assets were from corporate pension funds, the firm reported, in addition to smaller mandates from public pension plans and foundations.
Since joining the Santa Monica, California-based firm in 1994, the now-CIO focused on researching both traditional and alternative investments. He has authored various papers on factor-based asset allocation, asset-liability studies, and unconstrained bond strategies, the firm said.
He also played a crucial role in creating Wilshire’s models for quantitative attribution and risk analysis.
Last year, the consulting business added a risk management tool for pension plans and investment portfolios—dubbed Wilshire Compass Acuity—designed to monitor various types of risk and how they apply to each holding.
Foresti also serves as chair of Wilshire Consulting’s investment committee and the firm’s 401(k) committee.
Prior to his 20-plus-year tenure at Wilshire, Foresti worked as a mutual fund specialist at Morgan Stanley.
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