(Bloomberg News) TIAA-CREF, the manager of retirement accounts for teachers, said Scott Evans is stepping down as president of the asset-management businesses that had about $441 billion in funds as of Sept. 30.
"After 27 years of faithful service, he will leave TIAA- CREF with a deep bench of asset-management leaders in place and a proven strategy," said Abby Cohen, a spokeswoman for the New York-based firm, in a phone interview today. "Scott will continue to work with us to ensure a smooth transition as we conduct a search for his successor."
The departure of Evans, 52, will leave vacancies in two of the top money-management jobs at the company, which oversees holdings of corporate bonds, stocks, government debt, mortgage-backed securities and real estate investments. TIAA-CREF said in November that Ed Grzybowski was stepping down as chief investment officer and would leave in March.
The firm created the position of chief operating officer of asset management last year and assigned Carol Deckbar to the post, saying she would report to Evans. David Brown was named to the new position of portfolio manager for the $207 billion general account. Brown previously was senior managing director and head of global public markets, a post that was taken by Lisa Black.
"We thank Scott for his many contributions and respect his decision to spend more time with his family," Cohen said.
The company's CREF Stock Account lost 4.9 percent in 2011 and posted an average annual return of 3.5 percent in the 10 years through Dec. 31. That compares with a 3.7 percent one-year drop for a composite index used by the company as a benchmark, and an average yearly return of 3.8 percent over the decade, according to data on TIAA-CREF's website. The Stock Account had about $97 billion in net invested assets as of Dec. 31.
TIAA-CREF mutual funds had net inflows of $7 billion during 2011, bringing assets under management to $37 billion, according to a report from Morningstar Inc.