Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System

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Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System
Basic facts
Location:	Jefferson City, Missouri
Top official:	Beth Knes, chair
Year founded:	1946
Active members:	53,572
Website:	Official website
Total assets under management
2022:	$7,207,827,000

See also: Public pensions in Missouri

The Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System is a Missouri state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's public school employees. The Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System had $7,207,827,000 ($7.2 billion) in total assets under management as of June 30, 2024.

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 Public Education Employee Retirement System.
• Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System.
• Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System, 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 Public Education Employee Retirement System's oversight board, including members and selection.

Background

See also: Public pensions

The Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System (PEERS) was founded in 1946 along with the Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS). Both PSRS and PEERS operate as defined benefit pension plans based on a formula established by Missouri state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's public school teachers, school employees, and their families.

The Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System served over 53,572 active members and approximately 38,985 retirees and beneficiaries as of March 2024.

Pension performance overview

The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System as of June 30, 2024:

Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System pension performance (June 30, 2024)
Fiscal year	Percent funded	Unfunded liabilities	Total assets
2024	88.1%	$928,748,837	$7,207,827,000

Assets and asset management

Asset management companies (AMCs) contract with pension funds to manage asset investment. Some pension funds contract with multiple AMCs, some contract with a single AMC, and others make their own investment decisions without contracting with an AMC.

More than 300 AMCs as of December 2022 were members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), and 362 asset managers as of June 2023 were investor participants in the Climate Action 100+ initiative. Both international asset manager initiatives aim to align signatory investment decisions with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

List of AMCs contracting with the Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System

The Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System contracted with 54asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of September 28, 2021. Of those companies, seven 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 the Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System:

• ABS Investment Management
• Acadian Asset Management (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Alliance Bernstein LP (NZAM)
• Analytic Investors
• AQR Absolute Return Fund
• AQR Adaptive Multi-Strategy
• AQR Capital Management
• AQR Diversified Beta Fund
• AQR Real Asset Fund I
• Arrowstreet Capital
• Blackrock (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Bridgewater All Weather
• Bridgewater Inflation Pool
• Bridgewater Pure Alpha II
• Chartwell Investment Partners
• Coatue Long Only Partners
• Coho Partners
• Coronation Asset Management Limited (Climate Action 100+)
• Davidson Kempner Distressed Opportunities Fund
• Davidson Kempner Institutional Partners
• Davis Selected Advisers
• Eagle Capital Management
• GoldenTree Partners Distressed
• Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co.
• Greenhouse Funds
• HBK Capital Management
• Hillhouse China Value Fund
• Indus Asia Pacific Fund Equity
• Invesco Advisors (NZAM)
• JP Morgan (NZAM)
• Lazard Asset Management (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Martingale Asset Management
• Maverick Fund USA Equity
• MFS Investment Management (Climate Action 100+)
• Neon Capital Management
• NISA Investment Advisors
• Pacific Inestment Management Co
• Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund
• RK Capital Management
• Rock Creek Group
• Rock Springs Capital Fund
• Russell Investments (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Sculptor Domestic Partners
• Sculptor Europe Domestic Partners
• Select Equity Group
• Southpoint Capital Advisors Equity
• Stark Investments Limited Partners
• Stark Investments Limited Partners Equity
• Systematic Financial Management
• UBS O'Connor Multi-Strategy Alpha (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Walter Scott & Partners
• Westwood Management
• Westwood Management Income
• Zevenbergen Capital

Governance and accountability

This section features information about the seven-member board of trustees that oversees the Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System. The board is specific to oversight of the Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System and the Missouri Public School Retirement System.

Board selection method

The board of trustees that oversees the Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System is made up of seven members. One member from the Public Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri (PEERS) and three members from the Public School Retirement System of Missouri (PSRS) are elected to four-year terms (two members elected in each even-numbered calendar year) by a vote of system members and retirees. The three governor-appointed trustees must be residents of school districts within the system but not school district employees, state employees, or state officials.

Board of trustees membership

A seven-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of Missouri Public Education Employee Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of January 2025:

• Beth Knes, chair
• Dr. Eric Park, vice chair
• Allie Gassmann
• Katie Webb
• Charles "Chuck" Bryant
• Dr. Nate Moore
• vacant

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

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Footnotes

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