New OCIO Head for U.S. Bancorp’s Institutional Business

U.S. Bancorp promoted Jim Link to head of its institutional outsourced CIO practice, effective immediately, the firm announced in a press release.

Link is responsible for delivering investment advice to institutional investors, including retirement, foundation, endowment and insurance asset owners, says Eric Thole, CEO of U.S. Bancorp Asset Management in an email.

“The institutional OCIO segment has grown significantly over the past decade and is expected to continue on this trajectory in the coming years as clients seek holistic solutions over varying market cycles,” says Thole.“We were in a position to focus significant effort and resources into growing our presence in the space.”

Institutional investors use OCIO services to transfer full or partial responsibility to a third party—an asset manager or investment consultant—to operate the investment function, accountability and fiduciary responsibility for an asset pool. Increasingly, defined benefit plans have used outsourced investment advisers to improve performance and funding.

The U.S. Bancorp OCIO business is operated by a wholly owned subsidiary—PFM Asset Management LLC—responsible for new business development, investments, client experience and service or product offerings, according to a U.S. Bank spokesperson.

“The increasing complexity of portfolios, combined with extreme market volatility, has caused many institutions to rethink their approach to managing portfolios and adopt the OCIO model,” the U.S. Bancorp release stated. “Our institutional clients are looking for an OCIO partner who is able to offer sophisticated guidance and navigate these challenges in an agile and cost-effective manner that may not be possible with in-house resources.”

Link was promoted to the role because his work experiences have prepared him to grow the OCIO business, added Thole, to whom Link reports.

Link was previously head of the multi-asset strategies group and worked as chief marketing officer at PFM Asset Management. He has also held positions with Wachovia Bank, Manning & Napier and T. Rowe Price.

The 2022 CIO Outsourced-Chief Investment Officer survey found the use of OCIO services was more prevalent at smaller organizations. The research from CIO, which, like PLANSPONSOR, is owned by International Shareholder Services Inc., found 50% of OCIO clients managed investment portfolios with less than $500 million of assets.   

As of December 31, 2022, PFM Asset Management had more than $153 billion in assets under management and more than $48 billion in assets under administration, according to the spokesperson. As of 2022 year-end, the firm’s OCIO practice comprised $22.6 billion in combined assets under management and assets under administration.