Fernando Vinzons of Chicago Teachers Pension Fund: From the Shoulders of Giants to Forging a New Path

Fernando Vinzons is Chief Investment Officer at the Chicago Teacher’s Pension Fund, a role he has held for almost 3 years. He previously spent over 13 years at the Cook County Pension Fund and started his career in investment research. Our conversation starts with Fernando's initiation into stock picking, and how he earned the ropes pitching stock ideas to a legendary hedge fund manager. We move then to his move to an allocator role, and the entrepreneurial nature of his formative years, when resource constraints required the wearing of many hats. We move then to the Chicago Teachers Pension Plan and we discuss their diversity program in detail - we hear how the pension fund is leading the way in diversity, with over 51% of their portfolio managed by MWBE firms. The Fund's "First Look" program gives smaller investment firms a platform to showcase their talents and break through traditional industry barriers.  We discuss the benefit that this dialogue can create for these emerging managers who still struggle to get air time. Ending with advice and reflections, Fernando offers a reminder to stay calm, focus on long-term strategies, and remember that there's more to life than work stress. He also touts the benefit of travel to broaden the mind and offer more perspective. Thank you Eagle Point Credit and Benefit Street Partners for supporting this series! With over $12 billion of AUM, Eagle Point Credit Management is a premier investment firm focused on generating strong returns for its clients through sourcing, evaluating and executing investments in CLOs, Portfolio Debt Securities and other credit investments that it believes shave the potential to outperform their respective markets generally. Benefit Street Partners is a leading global alternative credit asset manager offering clients investment solutions across a broad range of complementary credit strategies, including direct lending, special situations, structured credit, high yield bonds, leveraged loans and commercial real estate debt and equity. As of December 31, 2024, BSP-Alcentra had $76 billion of assets under management.