Columbus, Ohio - Richard J. Gardner has been named Senior Investment Officer of Fixed Income at the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (OP&F), the pension fund announced today.

In this position, Gardner will manage OP&F's fixed income portfolio relative to the Lehman Aggregate Index. He will be responsible for reviewing economic and market forecasts, monitoring the accounting of the portfolio positions and cash flows, and constructing performance calculations.

Prior to joining OP&F, Gardner was an Assistant Vice President and Portfolio Manager for Huntington National Bank. His experience includes wide-ranging investment knowledge and a background in banking portfolio management, cash flow analysis, student loan programs, and federal home loans.

With assets of more than $9 billion, the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund is currently ranked one of the 115 largest private pension funds in the country. OP&F is one of the five Ohio Retirement Systems and provides pension, disability, survivor, and health care benefits to full-time police officers and firefighters in the state of Ohio. OP&F currently serves over 50,000 members, and annually pays out over $400 million in pension and $100 million in health care benefits.

Gardner and his wife, Karen, reside in Powell.

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Contact: Dave Graham (614) 628-8396, dgraham@op-f.org