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Iowa Public Employees Retirement System

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Iowa Public Employees Retirement System
Iowa Public Employees Retirement System.png
Basic facts
Location:Des Moines, Iowa
Top official:Justin Kirchhoff, chair
Year founded:1953
Active members:170,475
Website:Official website
Total assets under management
2023:$41.0 billion
See also: Public pensions in Iowa

The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) is a Iowa state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to public employees in the state of Iowa and their families. The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System had $41.0 billion 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

See also: Public pensions

The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System, founded in 1953, operates as a defined benefit plan based on a formula established by Iowa state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to public employees in the state of Iowa and their families.[1]

The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System served over 170,475 active members and 133,575 retirees and beneficiaries as of 2023.[1]

Pension performance overview

The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System as of June 2023:[1]


Employees Retirement System of Iowa (June 2023)
Fiscal year Percent funded Unfunded liabilities Total assets[2]
2023 49.7% $4.7 billion $41.0 billion

Assets and asset management

Environmental, social, and corporate governance
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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.[3][4]

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.”[5]

List of AMCs contracting with the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System

The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System contracted with 71 asset management companies (AMCs) as of September 12, 2024. Of those companies or funds, 10 were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and 21 were members of NZAM as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System:[6]

Iowa Public Employees Retirement System 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[7] Climate Action 100+ signatory as of October 2024
Blackrock R2000 SAE DOMESTIC EQUITY - ACTIVE 229,207,812 0.511% Yes No
Blackrock Russell 1000 Alpha Tilts DOMESTIC EQUITY - ACTIVE 2,063,140,593 4.603% Yes No
Mellon - Russell 1000 Index DOMESTIC EQUITY - PASSIVE 6,952,686,272 15.513% No No
Mellon - Russell 2000 Index DOMESTIC EQUITY - PASSIVE 243,232,533 0.543% No No
Rhumbline Advisers DOMESTIC EQUITY - PASSIVE 0 0.000% No No
Parametric - Domestic Equity DOMESTIC EQUITY - PASSIVE 79,160,180 0.177% No No
NT Transition Manager DOMESTIC EQUITY - PASSIVE 0 0.000% No No
Blackrock Canada INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - PASSIVE 464,718,358 1.037% Yes No
Passive - Blackrock EAFE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - PASSIVE 2,116,345,661 4.722% No No
Parametric - Int'l Equity INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - PASSIVE 51,268,726 0.114% No No
Mellon Passive Emerging INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - PASSIVE 989,133,669 2.207% No Yes
Blackrock EAFE SAE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - PASSIVE 1,217,811,677 2.717% Yes No
Blackrock EM SAE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - ACTIVE 396,725,067 0.885% Yes No
Blackrock Europe Alpha Tilt INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - ACTIVE 11,467,523 0.026% Yes No
BMO EAFE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - ACTIVE 2,600,013 0.006% Yes Yes
International Equity Transition INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - ACTIVE 326,170 0.001% No No
Oechsle INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - ACTIVE 753,448 0.002% No No
PanAgora Dynamic EAFE INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - ACTIVE 387,387,669 0.864% No No
Columbia EAFE Equity INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - ACTIVE 5,152,064 0.011% No No
Wellington EM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY - ACTIVE 253,262,909 0.565% Yes Yes
Western CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 339,171 0.001% No No
IPERS MESIROW EM CURRENCY CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 244,993,554 0.547% No No
IPERS MAN EM GLOBAL MACRO CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 152,004,573 0.339% No No
Blackrock CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 3,702 0.000% Yes No
Principal Global Investors CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 2,197 0.000% No No
TCW CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 102,907 0.000% No No
Prudential CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 1,533 0.000% No No
BlackRock Universal Alpha CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 311,263,391 0.695% Yes No
BlackRock Universal Beta CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 371,486,701 0.829% Yes No
Mackay Shields CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 57 0.000% No No
PGIM GLRV Alpha CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 268,120,810 0.598% No No
PGIM GLRV Beta CORE PLUS - ACTIVE 278,251,349 0.621% No No
Parametric - Fixed Income CORE PLUS - PASSIVE 30,748,787 0.069% No No
Mellon SLH Agg CORE PLUS - PASSIVE 9,869,287,795 22.021% No Yes
Oaktree Capital Management TOTAL PUBLIC CREDIT 1,419,097 0.003% No No
Aegon USA TOTAL PUBLIC CREDIT 445,542,915 0.994% Yes No
Prudential EMD TOTAL PUBLIC CREDIT 468,663,270 1.046% No No
PGIM High Yield TOTAL PUBLIC CREDIT 458,334,292 1.023% No No
UBS US TOTAL GLOBAL SMART BETA EQUITIES 1,370,024,277 3.057% Yes Yes
UBS Developed ex US TOTAL GLOBAL SMART BETA EQUITIES 686,554,929 1.532% Yes Yes
UBS EM TOTAL GLOBAL SMART BETA EQUITIES 227,285,796 0.507% Yes Yes
Legacy Portfolio PRIVATE EQUITY 812,479,386 1.813% No No
Pathway PE Fund XXV PRIVATE EQUITY 7,066,570,491 15.768% No No
BlackRock DIRECT LENDING 334,922,597 0.747% Yes No
Pathway XXV-B DIRECT LENDING 209,639,165 0.468% No No
Monroe Capital DIRECT LENDING 408,390,763 0.911% No No
ArrowMark OPPORTUNISTIC 94,756,625 0.211% No No
Crestline Opps Credit IA OPPORTUNISTIC 191,084,229 0.426% No No
Crestline Opps Credit IA SRS OPPORTUNISTIC 55,127,861 0.123% No No
Audax Mezzanine Fund V OPPORTUNISTIC 32,359,592 0.072% No No
Marathon SPS IA Fund, L.P. OPPORTUNISTIC 241,132,050 0.538% No No
KKR Goldfinch OPPORTUNISTIC 283,148,178 0.632% No No
Ares Private Credit Solutions II OPPORTUNISTIC 63,303,223 0.141% No No
Audax Mezzanine Coinvest IA OPPORTUNISTIC 12,104,670 0.027% No No
Oaktree RECIF REAL ASSETS CREDIT 48,210,131 0.108% No No
IPERS Principal OEDF REAL ASSETS CREDIT 6,638,070 0.015% No No
ITE REAL ASSETS CREDIT 85,281,061 0.190% No No
IFM USIDF REAL ASSETS CREDIT 95,006,149 0.212% Yes Yes
PGIM RE Global Debt REAL ASSETS CREDIT 119,300,972 0.266% No No
IPERS PGIM PREDS REAL ASSETS CREDIT 70,569,315 0.157% No No
Principal RE Debt II REAL ASSETS CREDIT 3,599,468 0.008% No No
KARED IV REAL ASSETS CREDIT 96,660,301 0.216% No No
IPERS GTIF REAL ASSETS CREDIT 99,393,777 0.222% No No
Heitman Credit REAL ASSETS CREDIT 100,973,041 0.225% No No
RREEF REAL ESTATE 940,663,673 2.099% No No
Clarion Partners REAL ESTATE 200,453,139 0.447% No No
Invesco REAL ESTATE 769,807,873 1.718% Yes No
UBS Realty REAL ESTATE 483,698,344 1.079% Yes Yes
Brookfield Super Core Infrastructure OTHER REAL ASSETS 329,952,785 0.736% Yes No
Forest Invest OTHER REAL ASSETS 230,703,710 0.515% No No
UBS Farmland Investors OTHER REAL ASSETS 110,845,157 0.247% Yes Yes

Governance and accountability

This section features information about the 11-member board of trustees that oversees the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System. The board is specific to oversight of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[8]

Board selection method

The board of trustees that oversees the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System is made up of 11 members:

Voting members:

  • Three public members appointed by the governor, who are not members of IPERS
  • Two members appointed by the governor, who are members of IPERS
  • A retired member of IPERS.
  • The state treasurer.

Non Voting members:

  • Two state representatives.
  • Two state senators.[8]

Board of trustees membership

A 11-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of June 2023:[8]

  • Justin Kirchhoff, chair
  • Bill Bemis, vice chair
  • Roby Smith
  • Tami Loge
  • Kris Rowley
  • Mathew Watters
  • Molly Donahue
  • Mark Lofgren
  • Martin Graber
  • Amy Nielson
  • one vacancy

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 IPERS.org, “Iowa Public Employees Retirement System: Report of the Actuary on the Valuation," accessed July 2, 2024
  2. ↑ Note: By default, this refers to the actuarial valuation of total assets. In some cases, the total market value of assets is shown instead. See the cited source for details.
  3. ↑ The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, "The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative," accessed January 26, 2023
  4. ↑ Climate Action 100+, "The Three Goals," accessed June 20, 2023
  5. ↑ Pensions and Investments, "Net Zero Asset Managers initiative to suspend activities in wake of BlackRock departure," accessed January 15, 2024
  6. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Ballotpedia: Asset management data for state-administered pension funds across the 50 states," March 2023
  7. ↑ Note: NZAM announced on January 13, 2025, that it was suspending operations and removing the commitment statement and list of signatories from its website.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 “Investment Board Members,” accessed July 2, 2024
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