Arkansas Judicial Retirement System
| Arkansas Judicial Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Top official: | Amy Fecher, executive director |
| Year founded: | 1953 |
| Active members: | 142 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2022: | $309,198,267 |
- See also: Public pensions in Arkansas
The Arkansas Judicial Retirement System (AJRS) is a Arkansas state pension fund that provides retirement to all of the state's circuit judges, court of appeals judges, and Arkansas Supreme Court justices. AJRS had $309,198,267 ($309.2 million) in total assets under management as of June 30, 2023.[1]
The management of public pension funds can indicate support or opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investment practices. ESG investing considers the extent to which corporations align with and promote certain non-financial standards, such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals. States typically hire asset management companies (AMCs) to direct pension plan investments, some of which have ESG commitments that guide their strategies.
This article features the following sections:
- Background: Information about the structure and functions of AJRS.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by AJRS.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with AJRS, including a list of contracting AMCs that are participants in the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and the Climate Action 100+ initiative.
- Governance and accountability: Details about AJRS' oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Arkansas Judicial Retirement System (AJRS), founded in 1953, invests the assets of and provides funding for the retirement of all circuit judges, court of appeals judges, and Arkansas Supreme Court justices.[1]
AJRS served over 142 active members and approximately 178 retirees and beneficiaries as of June 2023.[1]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System as of June 20, 2023:[1]
| Arkansas Judicial Retirement System pension performance (June 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total market value of assets |
| 2023 | 88.03% | $27,611,910 | $309,198,267 |
Assets and asset management
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
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| • What is ESG? • Enacted ESG legislation • Arguments for and against ESG • Opposition to ESG • Federal ESG rules • ESG legislation tracker • Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletter |
Asset management companies (AMCs) are hired to manage asset investment for state pension funds across all 50 states.
As of October 2024, 330 AMCs were members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), and 391 AMCs were investor participants in the Climate Action 100+ initiative. Both international asset manager initiatives aimed to align the investment decisions of signatories with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.[2][3]
NZAM announced on January 13, 2025, that it was suspending operations and removing the commitment statement and list of signatories from its website. The group said in a statement it would reevaluate its plans and operations in light of “[r]ecent developments in the U.S. and different regulatory and client expectations in investors’ respective jurisdictions.”[4]
List of AMCs contracting with the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System
The Arkansas Judicial Retirement System (AJRS) contracted with 6 asset management companies (AMCs) as of December 1, 2023. Of those companies, three were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and two were members of NZAM, as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with AJRS:[5]
| Arkansas Judicial Retirement System (AJRS) asset management companies Click on a column header below to sort the list of asset managers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMC name | Investment type | Assets under management | Percentage of total fund assets | NZAM Initiative signatory as of October 2024[6] | Climate Action 100+ signatory as of October 2024 |
| Aristotle Capital Boston | Small Cap Equity; | 18,205,223,000 | 5.900% | No | Yes |
| Baillie Gifford | International Equity; | 36,704,688,000 | 11.900% | Yes | Yes |
| Boston Partners | Value Equity; | 56,290,726,000 | 18.250% | No | No |
| Invesco Real Estate | Core Real Estate; | 29,908,317,000 | 9.700% | Yes | No |
| MacKay Shields | Core Plus Fixed Income; | 123,197,905,000 | 39.950% | No | No |
| Mellon Capital | Growth Equity; | 43,780,390,000 | 14.200% | No | Yes |
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the five-member board of trustees that oversees the Arkansas Judicial Retirement System (AJRS). The board is specific to oversight of AJRS and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[1]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees AJRS is made up of five members. The board is appointed by the Arkansas Judicial Council[1]
Board of trustees membership
A five-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of AJRS. The following individuals served on the board as of June 2023:[1]
- Robert Edwards, chair
- Raymond Abramson
- Herbert Wright
- Charles Yeargan
- Marcia Hearnsberger
See also
- Public pensions in Arkansas
- Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Arguments about environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing
- Reform proposals related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- State legislative approaches opposing ESG investing
- State legislative approaches supporting ESG investing
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System, "Arkansas Judicial Retirement System Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2023," March 5, 2024
- ↑ The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, "The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative," accessed January 26, 2023
- ↑ Climate Action 100+, "The Three Goals," accessed June 20, 2023
- ↑ Pensions and Investments, "Net Zero Asset Managers initiative to suspend activities in wake of BlackRock departure," accessed January 15, 2024
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Ballotpedia: Asset management data for state-administered pension funds across the 50 states," March 2023
- ↑ Note: NZAM announced on January 13, 2025, that it was suspending operations and removing the commitment statement and list of signatories from its website.
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