Directors Guild of America Hires First-Ever Chief Investment Officer

The Directors Guild of America has hired its first-ever chief investment officer to manage its producer pension and health plans.  

Edgar Smith, who most recently served as managing director at the University of Southern California Investment Office, will oversee $4 billion in assets for the DGA.  

“As our portfolios have grown in size and complexity, Edgar’s experience and extensive network of managers that he has covered will provide invaluable support as we continue our efforts to provide these important benefits to DGA members and their families,” said Jay Roth, chair of the DGA’s board of trustees, in a statement.  

Smith started his new role on Tuesday, where he will work alongside DGA’s board and Cambridge Associates, its investment consultant. He previously spent ten years at USC’s $7 billion investment office, having joined in 2012.  

Prior to his role at USC, Smith worked on the asset management side of the business, serving as a senior research analyst at hedge fund firm Archstone Partnerships, an investment officer at hedge fund Lasair Capital, associate director at Paamco, and an associate at JPMorgan.  

Smith is a CFA charterholder and received his MBA in finance from Columbia Business School.  

DGA is the second California-based institution to bring its investment management in-house in the past month. In late August, Cedars-Sinai hired its first-ever chief investment officer, Pasy Wang, who joined from California Institute of Technology’s endowment.