Key Takeaways
- • NISA Investment Advisors, LLC is adding a quantitative equity strategy to its suite of customized institutional solutions, according to a PR Newswire release dated April 8, 2025.
- • Mohan Balachandran, a NISA alumnus, returns as Director to lead the strategy, supported by Kyle Schmidt, Ryan Leary, Eddie Pluhar and Peter Ruymgaart, all joining from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS).
- • The TRS team collectively helped oversee $16 billion of assets across quantitative equity and alternative risk premia portfolios, as reported in May 2024.
- • NISA, an employee-owned adviser based in St. Louis with $274 billion in physical assets and $146 billion in derivative notional value as of December 31, 2024, currently runs an existing $16+ billion direct indexing equity strategy.
Summary
NISA Investment Advisors, LLC, an independent, employee-owned investment adviser based in St. Louis, Missouri, announced that it is incorporating a quantitative equity strategy into its suite of product solutions. The firm, which manages customized strategies for some of the largest U.S. institutional investors, said the addition is a natural extension of its existing platform, which includes investment-grade fixed income, derivative overlay and a $16+ billion direct indexing equity strategy.
CEO and Head of Investment Strategies David G. Eichhorn said the firm has grown only organically since its founding 30 years ago, and that NISA believes there is a need for additional high-quality quantitative equity capabilities for institutional investors and other asset owners at scale. He said the firm aims to diversify by integrating an experienced quantitative team without losing focus on its core business.
The strategy will be led by Mohan Balachandran, who returns to NISA after leading the development and launch of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas' Multi-asset Strategies Group. He will be supported by Kyle Schmidt, Ryan Leary, Eddie Pluhar and Peter Ruymgaart, who are also joining from TRS. According to the release, the group collectively helped oversee $16 billion of assets, as reported in May 2024, across quantitative equity and alternative risk premia portfolios aimed at generating long-term alpha. Schmidt spent 12 years at TRS and previously launched the system's first directly managed equity market-neutral strategy. Leary brings almost a decade of quantitative equity research and management experience, with a focus on alpha signal research.
The quantitative strategy will be powered by the research-based, quantitatively informed fundamentals that underpin NISA's investment thesis. The release did not specify the strategy's target assets under management, fee structure or launch timing.
CEO and Head of Investment Strategies David G. Eichhorn said the firm has grown only organically since its founding 30 years ago, and that NISA believes there is a need for additional high-quality quantitative equity capabilities for institutional investors and other asset owners at scale. He said the firm aims to diversify by integrating an experienced quantitative team without losing focus on its core business.
The strategy will be led by Mohan Balachandran, who returns to NISA after leading the development and launch of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas' Multi-asset Strategies Group. He will be supported by Kyle Schmidt, Ryan Leary, Eddie Pluhar and Peter Ruymgaart, who are also joining from TRS. According to the release, the group collectively helped oversee $16 billion of assets, as reported in May 2024, across quantitative equity and alternative risk premia portfolios aimed at generating long-term alpha. Schmidt spent 12 years at TRS and previously launched the system's first directly managed equity market-neutral strategy. Leary brings almost a decade of quantitative equity research and management experience, with a focus on alpha signal research.
The quantitative strategy will be powered by the research-based, quantitatively informed fundamentals that underpin NISA's investment thesis. The release did not specify the strategy's target assets under management, fee structure or launch timing.
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