Mark Anson

Mark Anson joined Commonfund in January 2016 as Chief Investment Officer. In this capacity, Mark is responsible for overall client asset allocation, portfolio management and manager research and due diligence across equities, fixed income and hedge funds. In addition, Mark is a member of the Commonfund Capital, Inc. Investment Committee. Prior to joining Commonfund, he was the Chief Investment Officer for the Bass Family Office which was recognized as “Family Office of the Year” in 2014. Previously, he was the President of Nuveen Investments, a full service asset management firm with over $200 billion in assets under management. Prior to Nuveen, Mark served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer for both Hermes Pension Management and for the British Telecom Pension Scheme (BTPS). Prior to joining BTPS, he served as the Chief Investment Officer of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. Mark is the former Chairman of the Board of the International Corporate Governance Network and also served on the boards for the CFA Institute, Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index, International Association of Financial Engineers, and the SEC Advisory Committee to SEC Chairwoman Mary Schapiro and served on the Curriculum Committee for the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association and the Advisory Board to the NYSE Chairman for New York Stock Exchange/Euronext. He currently serves on the Executive Advisory Board of MSCI-Barra, The Investment Advisory Council of the UAW Pension Fund, The Law Board of Northwestern University School of Law, and the Board of Directors for the Chartered Alternative Investment Association (CAIA). He has published over 100 investment articles in professional journals, has won two Best Paper Awards, is the author of five financial textbooks including the Handbook of Alternative Assets, which is the primary textbook used for the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst program, and sits on the editorial boards of several financial journals. As the CEO of Hermes Pensions Management, Mark was an original signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investing. Mark earned a B.A. in Economics and Chemistry from St. Olaf College, a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law, and a Ph.D. and Masters in Finance from Columbia University Graduate School of Business, all with honors. Mark has received several industry awards in recognition of his leadership in institutional asset management. Last, Mark has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, Certified Public Accountant, and Chartered Global Management Accountant professional degrees, and he is a Member of the Bar of the State of New York and the State of Illinois.