MissionSquare Names New CIO, as Wayne Wicker Retires

MissionSquare Retirement has announced that CIO Wayne Wicker will retire, effective April 5, and Karen Chong-Wulff will take over as the new acting CIO.

Wayne Wicker

Karen Chong-Wulff

“MissionSquare Retirement is grateful for Wayne’s 20 years of service to the company, and we wish him the very best in his well-deserved retirement,” said Deanna J. Santana, acting CEO and president of MissionSquare Retirement, in the announcement. “MissionSquare Retirement, during Wayne’s tenure, built and led an experienced and highly capable investment team that will continue to focus on helping build retirement security.”

Chong-Wulff, formerly the head of fixed income, has worked in the investment industry for more than 35 years. Chong-Wulff joined MissionSquare in 2007 and previously held senior positions at DuPont Capital  Management and Morley Capital Management, according to the announcement.

Santana said MissionSquare is fortunate to have Chong-Wulff, “a highly qualified and committed investment expert, take the helm” from Wicker.

As head of fixed income over the past 16 years, Chong-Wulff has worked to grow the MissionSquare fixed-income platform and deliver “consistently solid absolute and relative performance for our flagship stable value product, MissionSquare PLUS Fund,” Santana said.

Chong-Wulff’s work was also key in developing and refining MissionSquare Retirement’s overarching investment process, serving as an active member of the ongoing macroeconomic forecasting process, according to the statement.

“Karen hits the ground running, and we know that she will provide strong and consistent leadership,” Santana said.

Oliver Meng, a director and senior fund manager at MissionSquare Retirement, will take over as acting head of fixed income, said a MissionSquare spokesperson by email.

MissionSquare Retirement, formerly ICMA-RC, manages and administers retirement plans exclusively for public sector employers and employees. MissionSquare manages and administers more than $76.5 billion in retirement assets, as of the latest available data.