Nebraska County Retirement System
| Nebraska County Retirement System | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Top official: | Kelli Ackerman, chair |
| Year founded: | 1973 |
| Active members: | 7,093 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2024: | $765,717,139 |
- See also: Public pensions in Nebraska
The Nebraska County Retirement System is a Nebraska state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for all county employess, except Douglas and Lancaster counties, and their families. The Nebraska County Retirement System had $765,717,139 ($765.7 million) in total assets under management as of June 30, 2024.[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 Nebraska County Retirement System.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Nebraska County Retirement System.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Nebraska County 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 Nebraska County Retirement System's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Nebraska County Retirement System, founded in 1947, operates as a defined benefit plan based on a formula established by Nebraska state law, and is a subfund of the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to all county employess, except Douglas and Lancaster counties, and their families.[1]
The Nebraska County Retirement System served over 7,093 active members and 1,004 retirees and beneficiaries as of 2024.[1]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Nebraska County Retirement System as of June 2024:[1]
| Nebraska County Retirement System performance (June 2024) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets |
| 2024 | 101.95% | $(14,647,014) | $765,717,139 |
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.[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 Nebraska County Retirement System
The Nebraska County Retirement System, as a subfund of the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems, contracted with 49 asset management companies (AMCs) as of June 30, 2024. Of those companies or funds, three were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and three were members of NZAM as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Nebraska County Retirement System:[5]
| Nebraska County 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[6] | Climate Action 100+ signatory as of October 2024 |
| Almanac Realty Investors, LLC | Real Estate; | 184,129,177.00 | 1.040% | No | No |
| Angelo, Gordon & Company, LP | Real Estate; | 194,444,483.00 | 1.098% | No | No |
| Ares Management Corporation | Real Estate; | 83,404,138.00 | 0.471% | No | No |
| Ares Management, LLC | Private Equity; | 44,251,739.00 | 0.250% | No | No |
| Arrowstreet Capital, L.P. | Global Equity; | 2,353,093.00 | 0.013% | No | No |
| Baird Advisors | Core Fixed Income; | 24,647,436.00 | 0.139% | No | No |
| Barings LLC | Return Seeking Fixed Income; | 51,651,911.00 | 0.292% | No | Yes |
| Beecken Petty O'Keefe and Company | Private Equity; | 1,718,464,819.00 | 9.703% | No | No |
| BlackRock Financial Management Inc | U.S. Equity, Non-U.S. Equity, Core Fixed Income; | 783,004,327.00 | 4.421% | Yes | No |
| Bridgepoint Advisers Limited | Private Equity; | 563,134,581.00 | 3.180% | No | No |
| Clarion Partners | Real Estate; | 438,990.00 | 0.002% | No | No |
| CVC Capital Partners | Private Equity; | 4,794,107,602.00 | 27.070% | No | No |
| Dodge & Cox | Global Equity; | 73,422,031.00 | 0.415% | No | No |
| Francisco Partners | Private Equity; | 214,915,711.00 | 1.214% | No | No |
| Genstar Capital Partners LLC | Private Equity; | 12,862,654.00 | 0.073% | No | No |
| GQG Partners | Global Equity; | 1,077,804,733.00 | 6.086% | No | No |
| Harbourvest Partners, LLC | Private Equity; | 85,201,950.00 | 0.481% | No | No |
| Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, L.P. | Real Estate; | 174,844,116.00 | 0.987% | No | No |
| Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. | Private Equity; | 1,060,754,962.00 | 5.990% | No | No |
| Lightyear Capital, LLC | Private Equity; | 76,006,868.00 | 0.429% | No | No |
| Lincolnshire Management, Inc. | Private Equity; | 25,320,174.00 | 0.143% | No | No |
| Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P. | Return Seeking Fixed Income; | 49,579,440.00 | 0.280% | No | No |
| McCarthy Capital | Private Equity; | 1,277,246.00 | 0.007% | No | No |
| Merit Capital Partners | Private Equity; | 4,834,550.00 | 0.027% | No | No |
| Morgan Stanley | Real Estate; | 563,194,358.00 | 3.180% | No | No |
| New Enterprise Associates | Private Equity; | 79,667,069.00 | 0.450% | No | No |
| New Mountain Capital, LLC | Private Equity; | 1,867,390.00 | 0.011% | No | No |
| Northern Trust Asset Management | U.S. Equity; | 38,905,772.00 | 0.220% | No | No |
| Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC | Core Fixed Income, Return Seeking Fixed Income; | 88,012,428.00 | 0.497% | No | No |
| Pathway Capital Management, L.P. | Private Equity; | 99,283,151.00 | 0.561% | No | No |
| PGIM Real Estate | Real Estate; | 3,254,940,503.00 | 18.379% | No | No |
| Pine Brook Partners | Private Equity; | 1,337,618,243.00 | 7.553% | No | No |
| Quantum Energy Partners | Private Equity; | 2,173,509.00 | 0.012% | No | No |
| Rockpoint Group, LLC | Real Estate; | 242,188,882.00 | 1.368% | No | No |
| Rockwood Capital, LLC | Real Estate; | 18,921,418.00 | 0.107% | No | No |
| Sun Capital Partners, Inc. | Private Equity; | 45,812,028.00 | 0.259% | No | No |
| The Energy & Minerals Group | Private Equity; | 467,677.00 | 0.003% | No | No |
| The Jordan Company | Private Equity; | 39,429,923.00 | 0.223% | No | No |
| Torchlight Investors | Real Estate; | 830,744.00 | 0.005% | No | No |
| UBS Realty Investors LLC | Real Estate; | 15,654,887.00 | 0.088% | Yes | Yes |
| Wayzata Investment Partners, LLC | Private Equity; | 161,033,367.00 | 0.909% | No | No |
| Wellington Management Company LLP | Global Equity; | 60,023,225.00 | 0.339% | Yes | Yes |
| Wynnchurch Capital | Private Equity; | 200,060,416.00 | 1.130% | No | No |
| Franklin Templeton | Total Return Seeking Fixed Income; | 881,870.00 | 0.005% | No | No |
| CB Richard Ellis Strategic | Total Real Estate; | 381,238,330.00 | 2.153% | No | No |
| Five Arrows Realty | Total Real Estate; | 69,750,228.00 | 0.394% | No | No |
| CMEA Ventures VII | Total Private Equity; | 14,158,791.00 | 0.080% | No | No |
| Citigroup Venture Capital International | Total Private Equity; | 52,214.00 | 0.000% | No | No |
| Longroad Capital Partners LP | Total Private Equity; | 23,608.00 | 0.000% | No | No |
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the eight-member board of trustees that oversees the Nebraska County Retirement System. The board is not specific to oversight of the Nebraska County Retirement System and does exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[7]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the Nebraska County Retirement System is made up of eight members, who are appointed by the governor: six are members of Public Employees Retirement Board (PERB) and two are not members.[7]
Board of trustees membership
A eight -member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of the Nebraska County Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of August 2024:[7]
- Kelli Ackerman, chair
- Janis Elliott, vice chair
- Allen Simpson
- Luke Splattstoesser
- Charles Neumann
- Jim Schulzt
- Thomas Zimmermant
- Gerald Clausen
- Ellen Hung
See also
- Public pensions in Nebraska
- 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 1.3 NPERS, Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems – County Employees' Retirement System, Cash Balance Benefit Fund, Actuarial Valutaion report as July 1, 2024," accessed August 22, 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.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 https://npers.ne.gov/SelfService/public/aboutus/rtrmtbrd.jsp NPERS.NE.gov/, “Retirement Board,” accessed August 15, 2024]
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