Arkansas State Police Retirement Fund
| Arkansas State Police Retirement Fund (ASPRS) | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Top official: | Amy Fecher, executive secretary |
| Year founded: | 1951 |
| Active members: | 482 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2022: | $427,054,026 |
- See also: Public pensions in Arkansas
The Arkansas State Police Retirement Fund (ASPRS) is a Arkansas state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's police officers. ASPRS had $427,054,026 ($427 million) in total assets under management as of June 30, 2022.[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 ASPRS.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by ASPRS.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with ASPRS 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 ASPRS' oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Arkansas State Police Retirement Fund (ASPRS), founded in 1951, is a defined benefit plan that provides retirement for Arkansas police officers. Act 1242 from the Arkansas General Assembly in 2009 merged the assets of ASPRS with the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System's (APERS) assets. Accordingly, APERS administers and invests the ASPRS assets.[1]
ASPRS served over 482 active members and approximately 740 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 State Police Retirement Fund (ASPRS) as of June 30, 2023:[1]
| Arkansas State Police Retirement Fund pension performance (June 30, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total market value of assets |
| 2023 | 76% | $24,718,912 | $427,054,026 |
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 Public Employees Retirement System
The Arkansas State Police Retirement Fund (ASPRS) is a sub-fund within the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS), and APERS administers ASPRS' assets. ASPRS does not contract with its own AMCs; the AMCs for APERS account for all the ASPRS fund as well.[5]
APERS contracted with 31 asset management companies (AMCs) as of 2023. Of those companies, eight were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and eight were members of NZAM, as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with APERS:[6]
- Acadian (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Acadian Asset Management (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- AQR Capital Management
- AQR Global
- Artisan Partners
- Artisan Partners
- Baillie Gifford Overseas Ltd. (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Blackstone Hedge
- Callan Associates, Inc
- CastleArk Management
- DoubleLine Capital
- Franklin Templeton Institutional (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Co
- Golden Capitl Mgmt.
- Heitman
- Heitman America Real Estate
- Horrell Capital Mgmt.
- INTECH
- Invesco (NZAM)
- Invesco Real Estate (NZAM)
- Lazard Asset Mgmt. (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- LSV Asset Mgmt
- MacKay Shields
- MCM ACWI ex-US Index
- Newton Capital Management (Climate Action 100+)
- Newton Global Real Return (Climate Action 100+)
- Pinnacle Forest Investments, LLC
- SSI Investment Mgmt
- Stephens Inv. Mgmt. Group
- The Bank of New York Mellon
- Wellington Mgmt. Co. (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the seven-member board of trustees that oversees the Arkansas State Police Retirement Fund (ASPRS). The board is specific to oversight of ASPRS and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds. Act 1242 by the Arkansas General Assembly in 2009 merged the assets of ASPERS with the assets of the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS) so that while the ASPRS board presides over the administration of the Arkansas State Police Retirement Fund, the APERS Board invests ASPRS' assets.[1]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees ASPRS is made up of seven members. The board is made up of one active member enrolled in the Tier I benefits program, one active, vested member enrolled in the Tier II benefits program, the governor-appointed state police commissioner, the chief fiscal officer of the state or their designee, and three governor-appointed citizens. [1]
Board of trustees membership
A seven-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of ASPRS. The following individuals served on the board as of June 2023:[1]
- Scott Joe, chair
- Phillip Milligan, vice chair
- Denise Bugos
- Donny Underwood
- Kyle Drown
- John Shelnutt
- John Allison
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 Systems, "Arkansas State Police 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
- ↑ This information is sourced from research performed by Ballotpedia staff.
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Ballotpedia: Asset management data for state-administered pension funds across the 50 states," March 2023
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