Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

The next chief investment officer for the state pension fund will be paid between $275,000 and $350,000 annually under a change an independent oversight panel approved this week.

The new salary range unanimously backed by the Investment Advisory Council represents an increase of between 40 percent and 48.6 percent over the current compensation schedule, under which the chief investment officer has been paid between $185,000 and $250,000.

David Roth, chairman of the council�s selection committee, said during the panel�s meeting Monday that the revised salary range was �competitive� and �should give good flexibility for appropriate position compensation,� according to minutes from the meeting.

Roth added that unlike in other states, there are no incentives or bonus plans for the chief investment officer�s position at the Connecticut pension plan.

The council�s action came at the request of state Treasurer Denise L. Nappier, according to the minutes, which also reveal that the treasurer is poised to fill the investment officer�s post with a Farmington resident she called �a seasoned local finance professional.�

Nappier said her preferred candidate is M. Timothy Corbett, the former interim team leader of fixed income at McMorgan & Co., a San Francisco-based asset management firm focused on union health and welfare plans and owned by New York Life Investment Management.

Corbett previously was managing director of Hartford Investment Management Co., the asset management subsidiary of The Hartford, and a former head of portfolio management for Aetna.

Nappier asked that the council approve her recommendation to offer the chief investment officer job to Corbett pending successful contract negotiations, and the panel voted unanimously to do so.

While the treasury employs a number of outside advisers to invest state pension funds, the chief investment officer supervises the overall pension plan division, which is responsible for recommending and monitoring pension plan assets, analyzing liabilities, and recommending asset allocation policy.

Lee Ann Paladino is currently serving as acting chief investment officer, following the departure in 2007 of the former chief investment officer, Susan B. Sweeney, who had been appointed five years earlier.