News release | Thomas Lawrence

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (November 12, 2025) – The California State Teachers’ Retirement System, the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, is pleased to announce the appointment of Puneet Kohli as Risk Mitigating Strategies (RMS) investment director.

Kohli has more than 25 years of experience in investing, trading and leading investment teams for both public pension plans and major private-sector banks.

In his new role, Kohli will oversee allocation across RMS investments, partner with global managers with a long-term focus and help build internally managed RMS strategies with colleagues from the Global Equity and Fixed Income teams.

“Puneet is an exceptional addition to our already amazing senior investment team,” Chief Investment Officer Scott Chan said. “His talent will benefit California’s public educators and help us continue to fulfill our mission of securing their financial future.”

Kohli replaces Steven Tong, who retired in the summer of 2025 after serving with CalSTRS for more than 40 years. Kohli reports to Geraldine Jimenez, the senior investment director of public markets.

“Puneet is an exceptional leader who will benefit the CalSTRS investment team and our members by sharing his risk management expertise,” Jimenez said. “We look forward to learning from Puneet and leaning on his insight.”

Before joining CalSTRS, Kohli held senior leadership positions at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and the National Bank of Canada.

Kohli earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Schulich School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Toronto. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder.

“I am honored to join CalSTRS and lead our Risk Mitigating Strategies Portfolio,” Kohli said. “I look forward to working alongside our talented team to build on the program’s strong foundation. By combining our expertise and embracing innovative approaches, we’ll continue to protect the pensions of our members.”

The RMS Portfolio was developed after the 2008 global economic recession to preserve capital and deliver positive returns by reducing downside risks and volatility across the CalSTRS Investment Portfolio.

RMS enhances CalSTRS’ resilience through fluctuating financial market cycles and has been a pivotal asset class during several public-market downturns since its inception.

Kohli began his new role on November 5.

Media contact 

Thomas Lawrence
Phone: 916-414-1440
M-F, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. PDT
Newsroom@CalSTRS.com

About CalSTRS 

CalSTRS provides a secure retirement to more than 1 million members and beneficiaries whose CalSTRS-covered service is not eligible for Social Security participation. On average, members who retired in the 2023–24 fiscal year had 25.2 years of service and a monthly benefit of $5,659. Established in 1913, CalSTRS is the largest educator-only pension fund in the world with $382.4 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2025.