Missouri Transportation Department and Highway Patrol Retirement System
| Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Jefferson City, Missouri |
| Top official: | Sue Cox, chair |
| Year founded: | 1955 |
| Active members: | 11 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $3,270,000,000 |
- See also: Public pensions in Missouri
The Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System is a Missouri state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's department of transportation and highway patrol employees. The Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System had $3,270,000,000 ($3.27 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: Information about the structure and functions of the Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ 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 Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System (MPERS) was established by Senate Bill 66 in the 68th General Assembly in 1955. It invests the assets of and provides funding for the Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System pension plan. This plan operates as 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 department of transportation and highway patrol employees.[2]
The Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System served over 6,622 active members and approximately 9,650 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 Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System as of June 30, 2023:[1]
| Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System pension performance (June 30, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets |
| 2023 | 68.97% | $1,461,408,074 | $3,247,983,333 |
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 Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System
The Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System contracted with 7 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of October 21, 2024. Of those companies, zero were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and zero were members of NZAM as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System:[6]
| Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol 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 |
| MSCI ACWI | Public Equities; | 80,328,372 | 0.616% | No | No |
| MO Hwy PE. Index - Lag | Private Equity; | 24,288,231 | 0.186% | No | No |
| MoDOT Fixed Inc. Blend | Traditional Fixed Income; | 40,064,224 | 0.307% | No | No |
| Bloomberg US High Yield | Opportunistic Debt; | $1,295,084,232 | 35.309% | No | No |
| CPI + 4% Unadjusted | Real Assets; | $439,215,287 | 11.975% | No | No |
| MoDOT Real Estate Blend | Real Estate; | $771,387,917 | 21.031% | No | No |
| 90 Day T-Bill | Cash Composite; | $353,654,165 | 9.642% | No | No |
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the 11-member board of trustees that oversees the Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System. The board is specific to oversight of the Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System is made up of 11 members, four of whom are elected to four-year terms in an election cycle that provides for terms to begin on July 1 following the election. One member is elected by retired employees of the Missouri Department of Transportation, one is elected by active employees of the Missouri Department of Transportation, one is elected by retired Missouri State Highway Patrol employees, and one is elected by active Missouri State Highway Patrol employees. There are seven board members who are not elected. Two of these members are ex-officio members, three members are from the Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission, one was appointed by the Senate President Pro-Temore, and the final member was appointed by the Speaker of the House.[8][9]
Board of trustees membership
An 11-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of Missouri Department of Transportation and Highway Patrol Employees’ Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of September 2024:[8]
- Sue Cox, chair
- Vacant, vice chair
- Sen. Mike Bernskoetter
- W. Dustin Boatwright
- Warren K. Erdman
- Daniel Hegeman
- Rep. Barry Hovis
- Patrick McKenna
- Col. Eric Olson
- William “Bill” Seibert
- Todd Tyler
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 1.2 MPERS, Annual Comprehensive Financial Report 2023 accessed September 10, 2024
- ↑ MPERS, Benefit Basics accessed September 10, 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 MPERS, Board Members accessed September 10, 2024
- ↑ MPERS, Board Rules accessed September 10, 2024
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