Dahl retiring as CIO for MOSERS

For 21 years, Rick Dahl has been the Missouri State Retirement System's chief investment officer.

During that time, the investment portfolio has grown from approximately $2 billion to nearly $9 billion.

Dahl announced this week he will retire sometime during the first half of 2016.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the board, Executive Director Gary Findlay and, most importantly, the members," Dahl wrote in his 2015 report to the board of trustees. "The rewards, challenges, and fun that I have had are testaments to the great organization that is MOSERS."

MOSERS administers retirement, long-term disability, life insurance and deferred compensation benefits for approximately 113,000 current and former state employees and their beneficiaries.

In a news release announcing Dahl's retirement plans, Findlay said, "Rick was the right person at the right place at the right time.

"The legacy of the culture he established among those directly involved in the investment program at MOSERS will benefit all stakeholders for years to come."

Findlay is retiring at the end of this year.

"Rick was one of the first professional investment officers we hired," said Steve Yoakum, who headed MOSERS when Dahl started. "It turned out to be a good long-term investment decision for MOSERS and Missouri state employees as Rick has done an exemplary job there and will be missed."

The agency announced Tuesday that Deputy CIO Seth Kelly, an 11-year MOSERS veteran, will succeed Dahl as the chief investment officer.

Kelly became deputy CIO in January, and worked in several roles before that.

Shannon Davidson, currently MOSERS' risk and operations manager and a 20-year MOSERS veteran, will become the deputy CIO position when Kelly moves into the top slot.

"I want to express my profound confidence in the investment team that will be here to carry on once I leave," Dahl said.

"This is a world-class group of people with the intellect, desire and humility to see that the MOSERS investment program continues to be an industry leader well into the future."