Wyoming Treasury Names Karl Cheng as CIO
Karl Cheng
The Wyoming State Treasurer’s Office, which manages the state’s $33 billion in investments, announced Tuesday the appointment of Karl Cheng, a senior investment officer at the Oregon State Treasury, as its new CIO, effective February 2.
Cheng succeeds Patrick Fleming, who retired in June 2025. Cheng was selected through a nationwide search conducted by search consultant Hudepohl & Associates.
Wyoming’s investments provide 30% of the state’s spending budget, according to the website of Wyoming State Treasurer Curt Meier. Treasury funds include the Permanent Mineral Trust (37.26% of the office’s assets under management), the Common School Permanent Land Fund (18.99%), the State Agency Pool (17.16%), the Workers Compensation Fund (8.53%) and several other funds and trusts.
“We are excited to welcome Karl to our team,” Meier said in a statement. “He’s an accomplished investment executive with deep institutional experience. His 15 years in the public sector, combined with his earlier private sector experience with several highly regarded asset managers, is vital for our complex investment program.”
Cheng has worked at the Oregon State Treasury, which oversees $140 billion in assets, for more than 14 years, most recently as head of portfolio risk and research. In that role, he oversees the fund’s risk management, asset allocation and research. Previously, he was a manager research consultant at RVK and held portfolio management positions at Barclays and UBS.
“I want to thank Treasurer Meier for the opportunity to serve the people of the great State of Wyoming,” Cheng said in a statement. “I take this responsibility seriously and am eager to get started. I‘m excited to join this highly regarded investment program with such a strong track record of performance that is nationally recognized.”
Cheng earned a bachelor of science degree in materials science and engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as a master of science in materials engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles and an MBA in finance from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.
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