重口味SM

Chuck O鈥橰eilly takes over from Daren Smith as head of U of T Asset Management Corp.

Chuck O鈥橰eilly

Chuck O鈥橰eilly, head of public equities at UTAM, will become president and chief investment officer of U of T鈥檚 separate specialized investment management corporation at the end of July (photo courtesy of UTAM)

Chuck O鈥橰eilly will become the new president and chief investment officer of 重口味SM Asset Management Corp. (UTAM), which manages more than $13 billion in pension, endowment and other assets on behalf of the university.

O鈥橰eilly brings to the position a decade of experience as a senior portfolio manager at U of T鈥檚 separate specialized investment management corporation. Currently head of public equities, he will take over from President and CIO Daren Smith as Smith prepares to take on a new career opportunity overseas after nearly 13 years with UTAM.

The leadership transition is scheduled for the end of July.

鈥淚鈥檓 fortunate to be moving into this role with a great team and best-in-class infrastructure,鈥 said O鈥橰eilly, who previously worked as director of the fund management group at Ontario Power Generation before joining UTAM in 2011.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited for the opportunity to build on the successful, sustainable investment approach that Daren played such a key role in establishing, and to continue to generate great returns for the university going forward.鈥

Smith, who was named president and CIO in 2016, praised his successor as a talented and capable leader.

鈥淐huck has been a key part of our team for over a decade 鈥 and helped me build out the team 鈥 so I know I鈥檓 leaving UTAM in very good hands,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淗e has been a key contributor to making our investment processes more rigorous and systematic, and therefore more sustainable. He鈥檚 a thoughtful investor, a strong team player, a great mentor to his team and a collaborative leader.

鈥淚鈥檓 very happy to pass the torch to Chuck and I鈥檓 confident that UTAM will continue to reach new heights under his leadership.鈥

Established in 2000, UTAM oversees the investment of U of T鈥檚 financial assets to generate the best possible long-term results 鈥 while adhering to all client constraints 鈥 through skilled investment management, robust risk management and taking material environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into account. Rather than buying and selling stocks and bonds itself, UTAM uses a 鈥渕anager of managers鈥 approach by selecting investment managers to invest on its behalf.

As the incoming president and CIO, O鈥橰eilly will oversee the transition of U of T鈥檚 pension assets to the new . , the jointly sponsored UPP will serve plan members and retirees at U of T, Queen鈥檚 University and the University of Guelph 鈥 with other Ontario universities expected to join over time.

鈥淚 would like to congratulate Chuck O鈥橰eilly as he prepares to take on this key position of leadership,鈥 said U of T President Meric Gertler. 鈥淎s a core member of UTAM for the past decade, he has played an instrumental role in growing U of T鈥檚 assets while taking decisive action to reduce the carbon footprint of its pension and endowment portfolios.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to working with him more closely as UTAM鈥檚 next president and CIO.鈥

President Gertler also praised Smith for his accomplishments in the role.

鈥淯nder Daren鈥檚 stewardship, UTAM has delivered excellent returns on the university鈥檚 financial assets,鈥 President Gertler said. 鈥淎t the same time, UTAM has established itself as a global leader in responsible investing, thanks to concerted efforts to integrate environmental, social and governance factors into all facets of its work.鈥

Richard Nunn, chair of UTAM鈥檚 board of directors, said O鈥橰eilly has the experience and skills needed to support the transition of pension assets into UPP and chart UTAM鈥檚 future.

鈥淚t鈥檚 also a great testament to Daren鈥檚 leadership that he thought ahead to develop Chuck to be his successor,鈥 Nunn said.

Daren Smith

Daren Smith, who was named president and CIO in 2016, said he was especially proud of the strides UTAM has made in establishing itself as a leader in responsible investing (photo by Johnny Guatto)

With Smith at the helm, U of T鈥檚 pension and endowment portfolios each generated annualized net returns of 8.4 per cent over the past five years. Over 10 years, UTAM generated more than $525 million in added value for the two portfolios combined, .

Smith credited UTAM鈥檚 strong returns to 鈥渢he quality of people we have at UTAM and the processes that we鈥檝e developed, refined and honed for more than a decade, as well as the time and effort that we have devoted to risk management.鈥

Smith said he was especially proud of the strides UTAM has made in establishing itself as a leader in responsible investing.

In early 2020, UTAM pledged to reduce the carbon footprint of the university鈥檚 pension and endowment portfolios by 40 per cent from 2017 levels by the year 2030 鈥 a goal Smith said UTAM is now on track to achieve this year.

鈥淚鈥檝e already been consulting with President Gertler about resetting the target,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working closely with the university on determining what the new and more ambitious goal should be going forward.鈥

UTAM also scored an 鈥淎+鈥 across all categories . Last year, UTAM and U of T joined more than a dozen Canadian universities in signing the Investing to Address Climate Change charter, a landmark charter that calls on universities to tackle climate change by committing to responsible investing practices.

Smith said UTAM鈥檚 sustained progress on responsible investing has been accelerated by its decision to integrate environmental, social and governance considerations into its investment decision-making, as opposed to treating it as a separate endeavour.

鈥淲hat you sometimes see at other organizations is that there鈥檚 a dedicated responsible investing team, and there isn鈥檛 always great co-ordination between that team and the investment team, who are ultimately making investment decisions,鈥 said Smith.

鈥淲e鈥檝e really tried to embed responsible investing across the firm starting from the top.鈥

In a joint statement, David Denison and Geoff Matus, co-chairs of UTAM鈥檚 investment committee, praised the work of Smith and O鈥橰eilly and expressed confidence in UTAM鈥檚 ongoing stewardship of U of T鈥檚 financial assets.

鈥淲e have worked very closely with the management team for the past 12 years, and have been very impressed both by their investment ability and commitment to transparency in their communications and interactions with stakeholders,鈥 the statement said. 鈥淒aren has shone as a leader throughout his time at UTAM, and we are happy for him as he moves on to a new and exciting international position. He leaves us with a very strong team, so well exemplified by Chuck, who was such an obvious choice to succeed Daren.

鈥淐huck has displayed an impressive depth and breadth of investing capability and has earned the respect of his colleagues, the investment committee, President Gertler and the university administration.

鈥淲e are confident that under his leadership UTAM will continue its impressive track record of investment performance while maintaining its strong commitment to ESG principles and close alignment with the goals and priorities of the university.鈥

 

The Bulletin Brief logo

Subscribe to The Bulletin Brief

UTC