Richard J. Hayes, Senior Investment Officer for the Alternative Investment Management (AIM) Program at CalPERS has resigned to develop an alternative fund of funds at Oak Hill Capital Managements.

Hayes will be President and Chief Executive Officer of a new Sacramento, California-based business focused on building a fund of funds.

Oak Hill is a diversified wealth manager for selected ultra-high-net-worth individuals, endowments, foundations, corporations and global institutions. Oak Hill has offices in Menlo Park, California; New York City; and Fort Worth, Texas.

Over the past six years, Hayes has directed the world's largest alternative investment portfolio at CalPERS totaling more than USD 20 billion. 

Mark Anson, CalPERS Chief Investment Officer said: "Rick has positioned the pension fund well to effectively manage our AIM program in the future. He has led a multi-year restructuring of our private equity program that will serve as a foundation for future success, and he has left behind an outstanding team and strategic approach that will help us deliver strong returns for the fund and our members. I will miss him deeply."

Hayes joined CalPERS in May 1998. Under his direction, CalPERS invested more than USD 15.5 billion in global private equity investments. 

Hayes' noteworthy accomplishments include the development of a $500 million Corporate Partners Program, a USD 500 million California Biotechnology Program, and CalPERS California Initiative, an investment program that targets California's underserved urban and rural markets.

CalPERS AIM program has exceeded its benchmark by 7 percent and earned the fund billions of dollars in cash profits since inception in the early 1990s.

CalPERS is the largest US public pension fund with assets of approximately USD 160 billion. The System provides retirement and health benefits to more than 1.4 million state and local public employees and their families.