News release | Melissa Jones-Ferguson

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (September 23, 2024) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System is pleased to announce the appointments of Rosie Lucchesini-Jack as director of the Fixed Income Portfolio and David Murphy as director of Global Equity.

After a thorough recruitment and public search, both Lucchesini-Jack and Murphy have been promoted to the directorial positions from roles within CalSTRS as senior portfolio managers.

“Rosie and David have proven themselves great assets to our investment team and to CalSTRS’ mission of securing the financial future and sustaining the trust of California’s public school teachers,” Chief Investment Officer Scott Chan said. “Both have demonstrated a commitment to driving excellence in how we invest and have played an important role in the success of their portfolio. I look forward to working with Rosie and David in these new roles as they draw on their strong skill sets and decades of institutional investing experience to lead their teams.”

Lucchesini-Jack and Murphy now report to Geraldine Jimenez, senior investment director of public markets.

“With their considerable experience and history of strong leadership, Rosie and David have contributed significantly to the outperformance of their asset classes,” Jimenez said. “Rosie’s track record of managing fixed income assets and her ability to pivot to meet the needs of CalSTRS into new areas such as private credit and liquidity management are exceptional, as are her demonstrated leadership skills. David’s broad experience with global equities and integrating risk modeling and asset management have been vital to the success of Global Equity’s performance, as has his ability to develop a high-functioning team.”

Lucchesini-Jack and Murphy are responsible for managing the $41.2 billion CalSTRS Fixed Income Portfolio and $144.9 billion CalSTRS Global Equity Portfolio, respectively.

Their duties include:

• Sharing investment expertise with senior management and the Teachers' Retirement Board’s Investment Committee.
• Leading staff in the research, analysis and management of their asset class portfolios including formulating and recommending the Teachers’ Retirement Board’s investment policies and strategies.
• Guiding asset class efforts in implementing the transition to net zero. 

“I am honored and thrilled to accept this new role,” Lucchesini-Jack said. “Having been a part of Fixed Income for more than 20 years, this allows me to continue working with our skilled and accomplished team while contributing to CalSTRS’ growth and vision.  I am excited to embrace the challenges and opportunities ahead alongside some of the most talented and dedicated investment professionals in the industry.”  

Lucchesini-Jack has worked on CalSTRS’ Fixed Income team since 2001. She became a senior portfolio manager in 2023, and she focused on managing the public debt portfolios. Lucchesini-Jack also oversaw the recent expansion of senior debt (direct lending) into private credit.

Before becoming a senior portfolio manager, Lucchesini-Jack worked for 10 years as a portfolio manager. From 2001 to 2012, she held various investment officer positions.  

Lucchesini-Jack is a member of CalSTRS’ Risk Allocation Committee, which makes tactical asset allocation decisions for the total fund as well as the fund’s liquidity and private pacing committees. She also serves on the advisory board for Girls Who Invest, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the number of women in leadership in the asset management industry.

Lucchesini-Jack received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in strategic management from California State University, Sacramento.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to lead such a talented investment team and continue building on our established foundation of fostering a collaborative culture, pursuing excellence and generating strong investment returns,” Murphy said. “As someone who attended California state schools from kindergarten through college, I’m humbled and honored to support CalSTRS’ mission on behalf of our members.”

Since joining CalSTRS in 2006, Murphy has been instrumental in the management of Global Equity, CalSTRS’ largest asset class. His contributions include the oversight for all the internally and externally managed strategies including the expansion of internal management into international markets.

With 80% of CalSTRS’ assets managed by an in-house team, his experience integrating asset management and risk modeling significantly contributed to the successful outperformance of the Global Equity Portfolio over the past 10 years. 

Murphy has served in various other roles on CalSTRS’ Global Equity team, including as head of internal management from 2015 through 2020.

Before joining CalSTRS, Murphy worked in asset allocation and risk management at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Prior to beginning state service, Murphy worked as a management consultant for several consulting firms.

Murphy has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California San Diego and is a CFA and CAIA charterholder.

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 $346.5 billion in assets under management as of August 31, 2024. CalSTRS demonstrates its strong commitment to long-term sustainability principles in its annual Sustainability Report.