Benjamin Gong and David Ferguson have joined the nearly $35 billion Maryland State Retirement and Pension System as senior investment analysts, said Michael Golden, director of external affairs.

The two new hires were presented to the plan's Investment Committee at its Sept. 10 meeting, Golden said Tuesday afternoon.

According to Golden, Gong joins the SRPS from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's Investment office, where he served as the director of marketable investments and was responsible for all equity and fixed-income investments, as well as a portion of hedge fund assets in its nearly $2 billion investment portfolio. And Ferguson most recently was an independent consultant working for the development of a workforce housing and rehabilitation business plan at Enterprise Homes, Inc.

Previously, back in April, the Baltimore-based retirement plan said that it was looking to hire four new senior investment analysts that would boost its investment division by 25%. At the time, the SRPS said the new hires would work in conjunction with its team and ensure prudent investing in its global portfolio.

Mansco Perry, the system's CIO, said in the previous announcement that the analysts would help to provide oversight for the plan's private equity, absolute return, real estate, real return, credit strategies, public equities and traditional fixed-income asset class commitments. 

Furthermore, in prior roles, Gong also spent nearly 10 years at General Motors Asset Management (GMAM) as a fund manager, and Ferguson was an equity analyst and portfolio manager at PNC Bank. He assisted in the management of its Diversified Real Estate Fund, Golden said.

Additional information relative to Gong's previous FINRA appointment was unavailable as queries made to the Washington, D.C.-based independent regulator did  not receive an immediate response.

As of press time, Golden also noted that specific investment focuses for the analysts were still unknown.

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