< The 2016 Hedge Fund Rising Stars

It’s been a difficult few years for hedge funds and public pension plans. A roaring equity market, disappointing returns for most hedge fund strategies and a focus on fees — at a time when public pension plans are coming under fire for the pressure their obligations put on state and local budgets — have created a toxic stew. Yet hedge fund investments, and the sources of alpha they can provide, remain important for institutional investors. Rather than reject the promise of hedge funds entirely, some forward-thinking institutions regard them not as an asset class but as one of many fund structures that can deliver differentiated forms of alpha.

Reginald Tucker is charged with finding just those sorts of atypical return opportunities for the $180 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, wherever they might be. A graduate of New York University’s Stern School of Business, where he earned a BA in business administration, Tucker began his career in 1997 as a trader with Citigroup in New York. He received his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania as a Robert Toigo Fellow, class of 2006. Upon graduation he managed money for a private investment fund before landing a job in 2010 as an investment officer in alternatives for the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds. With a mandate that included real estate, private equity and hedge funds, Tucker helped to implement the $29 billon pension system’s first hedge fund portfolio. He was also the in-house person responsible for building up the plan’s emerging-managers alternative investment program.

In 2013, Tucker, 40, joined New York State Common as senior investment officer for its opportunistic investment portfolio. He has an open mandate to commit capital across all asset classes and strategies — including using hedge funds.

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Hedge Fund Rising Stars of 2016

Jessye Ball Millennium Mgmt Sarah Berner Aristeia Capital Jenna Bussman-Wise AIG Investments Maureen Chang Point72 Asset Mgmt Dennis Chenfu Pershing

Charles Dufresne Jr. Sciens Capital Mgmt William Freda Graticule Asset Mgmt Asia Samantha Greenberg Margate Capital Mark Gurevich Ropes & Gray Tal Gurion Mariner Glen Oaks

Craig Huie University of California Yusef Kassim Blue Harbour Group Florian Kronawitter White Square Capital Vikram Kumar TT International Brandon Levin Jana Partners

Jonathan Levin George Weiss Associates Brett Minarik Aksia Ian Monroe Etho Capital Jason Morrow Utah Retirement Systems Pierre-Adrien Nicolas Squarepoint Capital

Jamie Pabst Green Owl Capital Mgmt Parag Pande Blackstone Group Agata Praczuk MetLife Max Saffian Fortress Investment Group Matt Satnick MSD Partners

Eric Singer Viex Capital Advisors Katina Stefanova Marto Capital Reginald Tucker New York State Common Retirement Fund Michael Wang Cypress Funds Sean Wygovsky Polar Asset Mgmt Partners