Announcement: Get to Know Wespath’s New Chief Investment Officer
Johara Farhadieh, a proven leader with a track record of investment success and a commitment to supporting mission-driven organizations, is Wespath’s new chief investment officer (CIO), effective today, August 1, 2024. Her promotion to CIO completes the succession plan that began 10 months ago when she joined Wespath as deputy CIO.
In Wespath, Farhadieh found an organization that has an investment philosophy and core values she embraces.
First and foremost, Wespath is a fiduciary, meaning all its decisions and actions must align with the risk and return objectives of its participants and institutional investors. Farhadieh also has an affinity for the mission of the people Wespath serves: Wespath provides investment services to faith-based organizations and operates The United Methodist Church’s pension and retirement funds for clergy and lay employees.
“Our investment returns and the risk we take to achieve those returns are my main priorities,” Farhadieh said. “By successfully meeting those objectives, our institutional investors can serve more people and our participants can be more confident about retirement. It’s also gratifying that the ways in which we invest can affect change and do great work overall in the world.”
Prior to joining Wespath, Farhadieh was the executive director and CIO at the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI). At ISBI, she oversaw the investment management of state employees’ retirement benefits. During Farhadieh’s time at ISBI, it had the best performing private equity portfolio in 2019, 2020 and 2021 among all public pension funds in the U.S., according to the American Investment Council.
Outside of work, Farhadieh is an engaged member of the community. She sits on the Board of Trustees and the Finance Committee at La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago. She also is a member of the Board of Trustees and Chairwoman of the Investment Committee at The Francis Xavier Warde School in Chicago.
Farhadieh possessed both the résumé and the intangibles needed to be Wespath’s next CIO, according to Wespath general secretary and chief executive officer Andy Hendren.
“I immediately felt the connection that Johara has not only with our mission—that was evident from her life experience, from her previous work experience, from her volunteerism in her personal life—but also this deep openness to connection with people,” Hendren said. “That really matters in The United Methodist Church, in the faith and mission world in which we work, and among the stakeholders that we serve. She’s authentic, sharp, compassionate.”
Farhadieh takes over for Dave Zellner, who retired after 27 years leading Wespath’s investments division. Zellner worked diligently to provide greater financial security to Wespath’s benefit plan participants and, in 2019, helped launch Wespath Institutional Investments, a Wespath subsidiary focused on serving the institutional investment needs of faith-based organizations.
Growing the institutional investment business is among Farhadieh’s stated goals at Wespath. Farhadieh’s work with La Rabida and Francis Xavier Warde School—in addition to her professional experience—have served as a solid foundation for understanding the investment challenges and opportunities facing mission-driven organizations. Farhadieh and the Wespath investment team are in the process of further assessing the unique needs of institutional investors, such as colleges, children’s homes and senior living communities, with the aim of optimizing Wespath’s fund lineup.
“I really want to give our investors more choice,” Farhadieh said. “So, I think that’s really important for us to assess what are the needs of our clients, and what are we offering to ensure we are meeting those needs.”
Farhadieh also wants to ensure that the diverse group of participants saving for retirement through Wespath’s benefit plans have the optimal choice of investment options to meet their needs.
Another of Farhadieh’s priorities is to make sure Wespath is working with the world’s best asset managers—the firms who are hired to manage investment strategies on behalf of Wespath’s institutional investors and participants—and get the most value out of those relationships. Farhadieh and the investment team have already negotiated lower fees with multiple asset managers since she was hired as deputy CIO. At ISBI, Farhadieh is known to cast a wide net and foster competition among managers to find the best asset managers—including minority- and woman-owned firms. In ISBI’s top-ranked private equity portfolio, 24% of assets were allocated to minority- and woman-owned asset managers.
Farhadieh’s work at Wespath is balanced with her volunteer service as well as her devotion to her family. She is married and has three young children. She’s even a room mom at Francis Xavier Warde School. Farhadieh’s commitment to her children, and involvement in their school, is just one example of what Hendren calls her “genuine warmth and commitment to people.” All Farhadieh’s experiences have made her a valuable resource to Hendren and Wespath’s senior executives.
“I hope Johara is in this CIO role as long as I’m in my role—or longer,” Hendren said. “Even in her few months at Wespath as deputy CIO I can already tell that Johara is a resource of support for me as a leader, which means she’ll be a great addition to our senior leadership team.”