November 18, 2004
UW Regents approve appointment of UW’s first chief investment officer
The University of Washington Board of Regents today (Nov. 18) approved the appointment of Keith Ferguson as the UW’s first chief investment officer, effective Dec. 1, 2004.
The investment officer will manage the UW’s endowment, which exceeds $1 billion.
“Keith Ferguson brings hands-on investment experience to the UW endowment team,” says UW Executive Vice President Weldon Ihrig. “He has a strong leadership experience in investment management, as well as excellent analytical skills.”
Ferguson has a B.A. from Princeton University and a master’s degree from the UW in international studies as well as an MBA from the UW. He was with Fidelity Investments since 1996, serving as a regional investment director and portfolio manger in Hong Kong (1996-98); chief investment officer for the Asia/Pacific region (1999-2002); and group leader/vice president for quantitative and structured investments in Boston (2003-4). In his most recent position, he supervised 15 fund managers and quantitative research analysts.
The chief investment officer will work with the UW Investment Committee, which receives periodic reports on investment activities and advises the Board of Regents on policies, strategies and approaches. The officer also will work directly with the Board of Regents in developing investment policies.
The primary objective of the investment officer is to optimize the performance of the UW endowment, including the development of investment policies, strategic and tactical asset allocation targets, policy and performance benchmarks and risk management practices.
The chief investment officer reports to V’Ella Warren, vice president for financial management and treasurer of the Board of Regents.
