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Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan
| Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Jefferson City, Missouri |
| Top official: | Joan Leary, chair |
| Year founded: | 1967 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $26,687,502 |
- See also: Public pensions in Missouri
The Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan is a Missouri state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the staff of the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System. The Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan had $26,687,502 ($26.7 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 the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan .
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan .
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan , 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 the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan 's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan , founded in 1967, is a sub-fund under the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System. It invests the assets of and provides funding for its staff. The Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System is a defined benefit pension plan based on a formula established by Missouri state law. This plan—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's local government employees such as firefighters, police officers, utility workers, EMTs, public works personnel, librarians, and others.[2]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan as of June 30, 2023:[1]
| Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan pension performance (June 30, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets |
| 2023 | 92.01% | $2,316,301 | $26,687,502 |
- The total assets for this plan is the plan fiduciary net position, the unfunded liabilities are represented by the net pension liability (asset), and the percentage funded is the plan fiduciary net position as a percentage of total pension liability.
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 Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System
The Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System, of which the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan is a sub-fund, contracted with 54 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of June 30, 2022. Of those companies, six were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and seven were members of NZAM as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System:[6]
- Aberdeen Standard Investments, Philadelphia, PA
- AJOVista LLC, Belmont, MA
- Alchemy Partners, London, England
- Allegro, Wilmington, DE
- Allspring Global, Menomonee Falls, WI
- AQR Capital Management, Greenwich, CT
- Avenue Capital Group, New York, NY
- BentalGreenOak, New York, NY
- BlackRock, San Francisco, CA (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Blue Vista Capital Management, Chicago, IL
- Borromin Capital, Frankfurt, Hesse
- Brentwood Associates, Los Angeles, CA
- Bridgewater Associates, Westport, CT
- Catterton Partners, Greenwich, CT
- CBRE Investors, Los Angeles, CA (NZAM)
- Clearbridge Investments, Wilmington, DE (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Crow Holdings, Dallas, TX
- Dimensional Fund Advisors, Austin, TX
- Dock Square Capital, Coral Gables, FL
- Eagle Private Capital, St. Louis, MO
- EIG Global Energy Partners, Washington D.C.
- Europa Capital Partners, London, England
- Federated MDT Advisors, Boston, MA (Climate Action 100+)
- Fidelity Institutional Asset Management, Smithfield, RI
- Fireside Financial, Edwardsville, IL
- FSN Capital Partners, Oslo, Norway (NZAM)
- Garrison Investment Group, New York, NY
- Glennmont Partners, London, England
- Global Infrastructure Partners, New York, NY
- HBG Advisors, Manlius, NY
- Healthcare Royalty Partners, Stamford, CT
- Hoisington Investment Management, Austin, TX
- I Squared Capital Advisors LLC, New York, NY
- Jennison Associates, New York, NY (Climate Action 100+)
- Machine Investment Group, New York, NY
- Noble Investment Group, Atlanta, GA
- Pacific Investment Management Co., Newport Beach, CA
- Pamlico Capital, Charlotte, NC
- Portfolio Advisors, Darien, CT
- Prudential Real Estate Investors, Madison, NJ
- Related Fund Management, New York, NY
- Resource Capital Funds, Denver, CO
- RFE Investment Partners, New Canaan, CT
- Russell, Seattle, WA (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
- Seizert Capital Partners, Birmingham, MI
- Silvercrest Asset Management Group, New York, NY
- Sole Shipping, St Helier, Jersey
- Sound Mark Partners, Greenwich, CT
- Star Mountain Capital, New York, NY
- Stonepeak, Wilmington, DE (NZAM)
- Tailwind Capital, New York, NY
- Timberland Investment Resources, Charlotte, NC
- Walter Scott & Partners Limited, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Wellington Management Company, Boston, MA (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the seven-member board of trustees that oversees the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS), the parent fund of the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan. The board is specific to oversight of the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[7]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System , the parent fund of the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System Staff Retirement Plan, is made up of seven members who serve four-year terms. There are three Member Trustees, who are active employee members of LAGERS, three Employer Trustees, who are elected or appointed officials of a LAGERS participating employer but are not members of the system, and one Citizen Trustee, who is neither an active member nor an employer official. The three Member Trustees and the three Employer Trustees are elected at the LAGERS Annual Meeting. The Citizen Trustee is appointed by the governor.[7]
Board of trustees membership
A seven-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of September 2024:[7]
- Joan Leary, chair
- Frank Buck, vice chair
- Sandy Walker
- Mark Perkins
- Tony Kelley
- Chad Munsey
- Claire West
See also
- Public pensions in Missouri
- 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 LAGERS, "55th Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023," accessed September 17, 2024
- ↑ LAGERS, "What is a Defined Benefit Plan?" accessed September 24, 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
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 LAGERS, "LAGERS Board of Trustees," accessed September 18, 2024
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