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Kentucky County Employees Retirement System

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Kentucky County Employees Retirement System
County Employees Retirement System.jpeg
Basic facts
Location:Frankfort, Kentucky
Top official:Ed Owens III, chief executive officer
Year founded:1958
Active members:78,810
Website:Official website
Total assets under management
2022:$8,585,073,000
See also: Public pensions in Kentucky

The Kentucky County Employees Retirement System (CERS) is a Kentucky state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's county employees and their families. The Kentucky County Employees Retirement System had $8,585,073,000 ($8.6 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 Kentucky County Employees Retirement System, founded in 1958, operates as adefined benefit plan based on a formula established by Kentucky state law.These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's county employees and their families.[1]

The Kentucky County Employees Retirement System served over 78,810 active members and approximately 70,932 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 Kentucky County Employees Retirement System as of June 2023[1]

Kentucky County Employees Retirement System performance (June 2023)
Fiscal year Percent funded Unfunded liabilities Total assets
2023 54.8% $9,553,204 $8,585,073,000

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.[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 Kentucky County Employees Retirement System

The Kentucky County Employees Retirement System contracted with 147 asset management companies (AMCs) as of June 2022. Of those companies or funds, 7 were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and 13 were members of NZAM as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Kentucky County Employees Retirement System:[5]

  • Abel Noser
  • Adams St SPC II A1
  • Adams St SPC II B1
  • American Century
  • Amerra Agri Fund II
  • Amerra Agri Holdings
  • Arcano Fund
  • Ares SSF IV
  • Arrowmark
  • Axiom (Climate Action 100+)
  • Baring Euro Real Estate II
  • Baring Real Estate
  • Bay Hills EM PTNR I
  • Bay Hills EM PTNR II
  • Bay Hills EM PTNR III
  • Bay Hills II B
  • BDCM Oppt FD IV
  • BlackRock World Ex (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
  • Blackstone Cap V
  • Blackstone Cap VI
  • Blackstone Strat Opp
  • Blue Torch
  • BSP Coinvest
  • BSP Private Credit Fund
  • BTG Pactual
  • Capital Springs
  • Cerberus KRS LP
  • CM Growth I
  • Columbia
  • Columbia Cap Eq IV
  • Crestview Ptners II
  • Crestview Ptners III
  • CVC Capital Partners VI
  • DAG Ventures II QP
  • DAG Ventures III QP
  • DAG Ventures IV QP
  • DAG Ventures V QP
  • DB Private Equity
  • DCM VI LP
  • Divco West IV
  • Essex Wood HLTH VIII
  • Franklin Templeton (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
  • Fundamental Partners III
  • Green Eqty Invst V
  • Green Eqty Invst VI
  • Green Equity Inv VII
  • Greenfield Acq VI
  • Greenfield Acq VII
  • H & F Spock I, LP (Kronos)
  • Harrison Street
  • Harvest Partners V
  • Harvest Partners VI
  • Harvest Partners VII
  • Hellman Friedman VI
  • HIG Bioventures II
  • HIG Cap Ptnrs V
  • HIG Venture Ptnr II
  • Horsley Brdg Intl V
  • IFM Infrast Debt Fund (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
  • Internal Tips
  • Internal US Mid Cap
  • Invesco (NZAM)
  • Invst Ven Ptrn XII
  • JP Morgan Emerging Markets (NZAM)
  • JW Childs Equity III
  • Kayne Anderson
  • KCP IV Co-Invest
  • Keyhaven Capital III
  • Keyhaven Capital IV
  • KRS Internal Equity
  • KRS Nonus ACWI-EX US
  • L-A VII
  • Lazard Asset Management (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
  • Levine Leichtman Cap Ptnrs V
  • Levine Leichtman Fund VI
  • Loomis
  • Loomis Core Fixed Income
  • Lord Abbett
  • LSV Asset Management
  • Lubert Adler RE VIIB
  • Luxor Capital
  • Magnetar MTP EOP II
  • Manulife Asset Management (Climate Action 100+)
  • Marathon Bluegrass
  • Matlinpatterson II
  • Matlinpatterson III
  • Merit Mezz FD IV
  • Mesa West Core Lend
  • Mesa West IV
  • MHR Inst Ptnrs III
  • Middle Ground
  • Middle Ground II
  • Middle Ground II X
  • Mill Road Capital
  • Myriad Opportunities
  • New Mtn Ptnrs II LP
  • New Mtn Ptnrs III LP
  • New Mtn Ptnrs IV LP
  • New State III
  • Next Century Growth
  • NISA
  • Non-US Trans Acct
  • NTGI Intl Sm Cap
  • NTGI Structured
  • Nuveen Real Asset Income (Climate Action 100+)
  • Oak Hill Cap PT II
  • Oak Hill Cap PT III
  • Oberland Capital
  • OCM Opps FD VIIB
  • Patron Capital
  • Perimeter Park
  • Pine River
  • Prisma Capital
  • Prologis Tusl
  • Putnam
  • Pzena Emerging Markets (NZAM)
  • River Road Fav
  • Riverside Apprec VI
  • Rubenstein PF II
  • S&P 500 Index
  • Shenkman Cap
  • SRS Partners US
  • State Street Transition (NZAM)
  • Stockbridge SM/Mkts
  • Strategic Value IV
  • Strategic Value Partners V
  • Sun Cap Ptrns
  • Taurus Mine Finance
  • TCV
  • Tortoise Capital
  • TPF II
  • Tricadia Select
  • Triton Fund IV
  • VantagePoint 2006
  • VantagePoint IV
  • Vista Eq Ptnr FD III (NZAM)
  • Vista Eq Ptnr FD IV (NZAM)
  • Vista Eq Ptnr FD VI (NZAM)
  • Walton St RE FD VI
  • Walton St RE FD VII
  • Warburg Pincus PE IX
  • Warburg Pincus PE X
  • Waterfall
  • Wayzata Opps FD II
  • Wayzata Opps FD III
  • Westfield Capital
  • White Oak Yield Spectrum Fund

Governance and accountability

This section features information about the nine-member board of trustees that oversees the Kentucky County Employees Retirement System. The board is specific to oversight of the Kentucky County Employees Retirement System and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[6]

Board selection method

The board of trustees that oversees the Kentucky County Employees Retirement System is made up of nine members. Six trustees are appointed by the governor and three are elected by the CERS members. The governor selects from lists combined by the Kentucky League of Cities (KLC), the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo), and the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA). These organizations submit lists with three applicants with retirement experience and three applicants with investment experience for the governor to choose from, which then must be confirmed by the Senate.[6]

Board of trustees membership

A nine-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of Kentucky County Employees Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of July 2023:[6]

  • Jerry Wayne Powell, chair
  • J. Michael Foster, vice chair
  • George Cheatham
  • Betty Pendergrass
  • J.T. Fulkerson
  • Martin Milkman
  • Merl Hackbart
  • Patricia P. Carver
  • William O'Mara

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 kyret.ky.gov, "County Employees Retirement System: Annual comprehensive financial report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023," accessed July 15, 2024
  2. ↑ The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, "The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative," accessed January 26, 2023
  3. ↑ Climate Action 100+, "The Three Goals," accessed June 20, 2023
  4. ↑ Pensions and Investments, "Net Zero Asset Managers initiative to suspend activities in wake of BlackRock departure," accessed January 15, 2024
  5. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Ballotpedia: Asset management data for state-administered pension funds across the 50 states," March 2023
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 kyret.ky.gov, “CERS,” accessed July 15, 2024
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