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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 14, 2024 11 office at the time. … They were using consultants." Zecher said it was "becoming clear that we really should be doing more, having our own abilities and functions," so when MSU's president asked, he agreed to step in as chief investment officer. The long view Zecher was chosen as Michigan State University's CIO even though he was living in Stamford at the time, but says that was actually viewed as an advantage. "What made me interesting to the president of (MSU) … was my back- ground, and my background to this area," he said. "I was already here, and I needed to be. It's more valuable to be in this area than it is to be in East Lansing." Primarily, that was because of Stamford's proximity to the New York financial district, but also for another reason. "When I started, I was just working from home, but we ended up getting an office here and hiring people, and that's really where it comes in handy," Zecher said. "It's just a bigger market- place for the skill set in the New York region." Since becoming MSU's CIO, Zecher has earned recognition for his manage- ment of the school's $4.2 billion endowment, including being named one of the top 30 endowment CIOs by Trusted Insight magazine in 2020. According to the school's website, the endowment posted a 6.9% annual return as of June 30, 2023, and a 13.5% return over the trailing three years. Zecher said he believes there isn't much difference between managing endowment funds and pensions. "We're long-term investors," he said. "We're supposed to be here forever. … We can't really market time, it doesn't work. So, we take long-term views on what's happening." Philip Zecher, based in Stamford, is the chief investment officer for Michigan State University. STATE'S WITH HIGHEST PENSION-FUNDING RATIOS* (2022) RANK STATE FUNDED RATIO, 2022 1 Washington 103.9% 2 New York 102.9% 3 Tennessee 100.8% 4 South Dakota 100.1% 5 Wisconsin 95.7% 6 Nebraska 94.1% 7 Utah 94.0% 8 Iowa 91.0% 9 West Virginia 87.4% 10 Maine 87.3% 47 Connecticut 49.9% *The funding ratio is the share of pension liabilities matched by plan assets. | Source: The Pew Charitable Trusts Financing for business success made Simple. Member FDIC Learn More 877.888.1388 | bankatpeoples.com/PBbusiness $600,000 Equipment Line of Credit Construction Company Hampden County, MA $13,900,000 Commercial Mortgage Multifamily New London County, CT $6,000,000 Equipment Line of Credit Trucking Company Franklin County, MA $5,475,000 Commercial Mortgage Retail Pharmacy Worcester County, MA $900,000 Term Loan Wholesaler Hampshire County, MA $217,000 Commercial Mortgage Residential Investment Middlesex County, CT Steve Parastatidis F I R S T V I C E P R E S I D E N T C O M M E R C I A L B A N K I N G Joseph Westcott F I R S T V I C E P R E S I D E N T C O M M E R C I A L B A N K I N G Chris Scott A S S I S TA N T V I C E P R E S I D E N T C O M M E R C I A L B A N K I N G