NM's top investment officer to retire, spurring national search for replacement

SANTA FE — State Investment Office Steve Moise — hired 13 years ago to help clean up a state agency mired in scandal — is retiring.

He will step down Oct. 1, and the State Investment Council is launching a national search for his replacement.

Moise, a lawyer, was hired in 2010 amid a push to overhaul the State Investment Council following a pay-to-play scandal.

No criminal charges were filed in New Mexico. But legal settlements helped the state recover $60 million after allegations of politically motivated investments.

“When the Council appointed me in 2010,” Moise said in a written statement Thursday, “the SIC was under a dark cloud, embroiled in a pay-to-play scandal and worries that our second largest fund — the Severance tax Permanent Fund — might in fact not be ‘permanent.’”

But the investment council, he said, is now “highly engaged, we embrace governance and operational best practices, our permanent funds are growing and our assets are well-positioned to be long-term revenue generators for New Mexicans today and tomorrow.”

Assets under the control of the SIC have more than tripled in his tenure, reaching almost $45 billion, the agency said.

The council manages investments for the state’s permanent school fund and similar endowment-like funds.

They are critical sources of revenue for the state budget, saving households the equivalent of $2,000 a year in taxes, according to state estimates.

The State Investment Council hired Hudepohl & Associates to lead the vetting of candidates to replace Moise. Finalists will go to the full council for consideration.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham serves as chairwoman of the State Investment Council. Other members include the state land commissioner, state treasurer, the state Cabinet secretary for finance and administration, and others.