Maryland State Retirement Agency welcomes Ming Cen as Managing Director of Dynamic Asset Allocation and Risk Management

For immediate release:
August 27, 2026

Contact: Benjamin Robb
[email protected]

BALTIMORE – The Maryland State Retirement Agency announced that Ming Cen has been appointed Managing Director of Dynamic Asset Allocation and Risk Management (DAA & RM). Cen began her new role in June 2026.

In this newly created position, Cen will lead a team providing an integrated, top-down and holistic approach to Maryland’s public market investment strategies. She will establish an adaptive investment framework that integrates market regimes, portfolio construction, risk management and strategic positioning across the fund.

“With her deep knowledge, strategic thinking and results driven approach, Ming has played an important role in creating and implementing innovative investment strategies. She is a great addition to our growing team,” said CIO Dianne Sandoval. “Her broad experience and proven track record make her the perfect fit to lead the development of the system’s dynamic asset allocation framework, quantitative alpha strategies across multi-asset classes, and risk management. We look forward to working with Ming as we focus on adaptive, system-wide portfolio positioning.”

Before joining the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, Ms. Cen accumulated 18 years of experience developing quantitative investment strategies at hedge funds and a sovereign wealth fund. Most recently, she played a key role at the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and USSA (the US subsidiary of PIF), Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, where she developed the strategic asset allocation framework, active quantitative investment strategies, and thematic investment strategies.

During her five-year tenure at PIF and USSA, Ms. Cen developed multi-asset and equity investment strategies by designing a scalable investment research infrastructure to support the organization’s growing quantitative capabilities.

Prior to joining PIF, Ms. Cen spent 13 years in the private sector, leading development of quantitative investment strategies at Vassalou Capital Management, a quantitative global macro fund. Her deep expertise in quantitative investing also led to her becoming a founding member and Managing Director at Perella Weinberg Partners Global Macro Fund in 2013. She began her hedge fund career in 2008, navigating the unprecedented market volatility during the Global Financial Crisis.

Ms. Cen is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder and earned a Master of Arts in Economics as well as Ph.D. Candidate Status in Finance from the University of Pittsburgh.

The Maryland State Retirement Agency is charged with the fiduciary responsibility for properly administering the retirement and pension allowances of more than 177,000 retirees and beneficiaries as well as the future benefits for more than 250,000 active and former members. These groups include state government employees, teachers, law enforcement personnel, legislators, judges, local government employees and firefighters whose employers have elected to participate in the system.

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