News release | Melissa Jones-Ferguson

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (July 18, 2024) – The California State Teachers' Retirement System is pleased to announce the appointment of June Kim as senior investment director of total fund management.

Kim has been promoted within CalSTRS to this position.

Formerly the director of Global Equity, Kim now serves as the senior leader over the Total Fund Management Division. This is a new position.

Kim will report to Chief Investment Officer Scott Chan.  

"I'm excited to work with June in her new senior leadership role," Chan said. "June has nearly three decades of combined investment experience in the public and private sectors and has proved herself to be an excellent leader in her time at CalSTRS. I am confident that her expertise and commitment to our mission will continue to strengthen the financial future of California's public educators."

Senior investment directors make decisions that significantly affect the Teachers' Retirement Fund, advise the chief investment officer on sophisticated portfolio management strategies and decisions, and make tactical and strategic investment recommendations.

In her new position, Kim's responsibilities will include:

• Overseeing portfolio construction, asset allocation, balance sheet management and investment risk across the total fund.
• Assisting with strategic goals and objectives, asset allocation, business plans and budgetary planning.
• Developing and overseeing cross-asset investment strategies and initiatives.
• Assisting in the coordination of Investments Branch reports and plans with the CalSTRS strategic plan and risk management plan.
• Serving as the lead for the CalSTRS Asset Allocation study.

For 10 years, as the director of Global Equity, Kim was responsible for managing the CalSTRS Global Equity Portfolio.

Her duties included:

• Providing investment expertise to senior management and the Investment Committee.
• Formulating and recommending investment policies and strategies.
• Leading staff in the research, analysis and portfolio management of the Global Equity Portfolio.

During Kim's tenure as the director of Global Equity, the team expanded its internal management capabilities to non-U.S. developed and emerging markets and significantly increased the amount of assets managed internally, resulting in meaningful cost savings. She will continue to work with the Global Equity team until a new director of Global Equity is hired.

Kim chairs the diversity steering committee for the Investments Branch, which oversees the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the branch and with investment industry partners. As part of her role, Kim led the planning team for the CalSTRS "Beyond Talk" event for five years, collaborating with key investment managers on a workshop that shares research and practical steps leaders can take to benefit from increasing the diversity of their teams.

"I am grateful to have had the opportunity to lead the terrific Global Equity team and am confident they will continue to thrive," Kim said. "I look forward to this new opportunity working with the CIO to build out the CalSTRS Total Fund Management Division to enhance value to the total fund. I also remain committed to continuing my work to increase diversity in the institutional investment community as I firmly believe it will help improve the industry."

Prior to joining CalSTRS, June worked for seven and a half years at the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association. She also worked in the private sector for 11 years in asset management and institutional foreign exchange.

In addition to her more than 28 years of experience in the investment industry, Kim has a bachelor's degree in business economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a 2019 Finance Leaders Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Media contact

Melissa Jones-Ferguson
Phone: 916-414-1440
M-F, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. PDT
Newsroom@CalSTRS.com

About CalSTRS

CalSTRS provides a secure retirement to more than 1 million members and beneficiaries whose CalSTRS-covered service is not eligible for Social Security participation. On average, members who retired in 2022–23 had 25 years of service and a monthly benefit of $5,141. Established in 1913, CalSTRS is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world with $337.9 billion in assets under management as of May 31, 2024. CalSTRS demonstrates its strong commitment to long-term corporate sustainability principles in its annual Sustainability Report.