Louisiana District Attorneys' Retirement System
| Louisiana District Attorneys' Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Top official: | S. Andrew Shealy, chairman |
| Year founded: | 1956 |
| Active members: | 734 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $520,361,462 |
- See also: Public pensions in Louisiana
The Louisiana District Attorneys' Retirement System (DARS) is a Louisiana state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's district attorneys, assistant district attorneys (who earn more than the minimum salary specified by the DARS Board of Trustees), and persons employed by this retirement system and the Louisiana District Attorneys Association. DARS had $520,361,462 ($520.4 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 DARS.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by DARS.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with DARS, 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 DARS's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Louisiana District Attorneys' Retirement System, founded in 1956, invests the assets of and provides funding for the retirement and benefits of Louisiana's district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, (who earn more than the minimum salary specified by the DARS Board of Trustees), and persons employed by this retirement system and the Louisiana District Attorneys Association. DARS operates as a defined benefit plan.[2]
DARS served over 734 active members and approximately 461 retirees and beneficiaries as of June 30, 2023.[1]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Louisiana District Attorneys' Retirement System as of June 30, 2023:[1]
| Louisiana District Attorneys' Retirement System pension performance (June 30, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets |
| 2023 | 85.85% | $85,755,092 | $520,361,462 |
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.[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 Louisiana District Attorneys' Retirement System
The Louisiana District Attorneys' Retirement System (DARS) contracted with 23 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as listed in their Q3 2023 Report. Of those companies, six were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and six were members of NZAM, as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with DARS:[6]
| Louisiana District Attorneys' Retirement System (DARS) 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 |
| MSCI EAFE (PR) | International; | $26,988,266.83 | 5.258% | No | No |
| S&P 500 Index (PR) | Large Core; | $37,604,562.84 | 7.326% | No | No |
| Russell 1000 Growth (PR) | Large Growth; | $37,277,548.33 | 7.262% | Yes | Yes |
| Russell 1000 Value | Large Value; | $42,336,413.48 | 8.247% | Yes | Yes |
| Russell MidCap Growth | Mid Growth; | $35,543,195.14 | 6.924% | Yes | Yes |
| Russell MidCap Value | Mid Value; | $38,514,407.30 | 7.503% | Yes | Yes |
| Russell 2000 Growth | Small Growth; | $16,679,689.65 | 3.249% | Yes | Yes |
| Russell 2000 Value | Small Value; | $16,490,654.24 | 3.212% | Yes | Yes |
| S&P 500 Index (PR) | Opportunities 1; | $10,462,555.52 | 2.038% | No | No |
| Bloomberg US Agg Bond | Fixed Income - Dorsey; | $87,844,854.49 | 17.113% | No | No |
| Bloomberg US Agg Bond | Fixed Income - Orleans; | $9,862,240.20 | 1.921% | No | No |
| Bloomberg US Agg Bond | Fixed Income - Parametric; | $12,279,183.83 | 2.392% | No | No |
| Structured Notes | Structured Notes; | $57,520,861.41 | 11.205% | No | No |
| Rastegar | Alternative Assets; | $38,001,540.62 | 7.403% | No | No |
| Light Stone Reit | Alternative Assets; | $3,152,208.09 | 0.614% | No | No |
| Cotton Creek Private Equity | Alternative Assets; | $4,314,962.51 | 0.841% | No | No |
| Encore Gp I Reit | Alternative Assets; | $3,953,576.96 | 0.770% | No | No |
| Louisiana Vc Funds | Alternative Assets; | $3,523,288.05 | 0.686% | No | No |
| Themelios Ventures Vc | Alternative Assets; | $4,528,855.00 | 0.882% | No | No |
| Louisiana Ventures Lqt | Alternative Assets; | 2,229,197.00 | 0.434% | No | No |
| TCW Direct Lending | Alternative Assets; | 9,640,810.96 | 1.878% | No | No |
| TCW Rescue Financing Fund | Alternative Assets; | 8,869,419.94 | 1.728% | No | No |
| TCW Direct Lending VIII, LLC | Alternative Assets; | $4,533,888.40 | 0.883% | No | No |
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the 11-member board of trustees that oversees the Louisiana District Attorneys' Retirement System (DARS). The board is specific to oversight of DARS and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees DARS is made up of 11 members. Six trustees are active members of DARS and are elected by the active membership, one of which must be an assistant district attorney. Two trustees are retired members, elected by the retired membership. Two trustees serve ex-officio and are members of the Louisiana Senate Committee on Retirement and the Louisiana House Retirement Committee. The final trustee is the director of DARS.[8]
Board of trustees membership
An 11-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of DARS. The following individuals served on the board as of July 2024:[8]
- S. Andrew Shealy, chairman
- Scott M. Perrilloux, vice chairman
- Bradley R. Burget
- Don M. Burkett
- David W. Burton
- Houston C. Gascon, III
- Todd H.Nesom
- J. Reed Walters
- Representative John R. Illg, Jr.
- Sen. Kirk Talbot
- Philip Qualls, CFA
See also
- Public pensions in Louisiana
- 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 LADARS, "Information for Financial Reporting June 30, 2023 District Attorneys' Retirement System," July 30, 2024
- ↑ Louisiana.gov, "REPORT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS RETIREMENT SYSTEM STATE OF LOUISIANA JUNE 30, 2022 AND 2021," July 30, 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.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 LADARS.org, "The Board of Trustees," July 30, 2024
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