Ohio Public Employees Retirement System Member-Directed Plan

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Ohio Public Employees Retirement System Member-Directed Plan
Basic facts
Location:	Columbus, Ohio
Top official:	Chris Mabe, chair
Year founded:	1935
Active members:	10,661
Website:	Official website
Total assets under management
2023:	$43,543,661

See also: Public pensions in Ohio

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System Member-Directed Plan (OPERS) is a Ohio state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to public employees throughout the state who are not covered by another state or local retirement system. The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System Member-Directed Plan had $98,555,000,000 ($98.6 billion) in total assets under management as of December 31, 2023.

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

Background

See also: Public pensions

The Ohio Public Employees Retirements System, founded in 1935, invests the assets of and provides funding for the operation as defined benefit pension plans based on a formula established by Ohio state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's active, inactive, and retired Ohio public employees.

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System Member-Directed Plan served 10,661 active members and 464 retirees and beneficiaries as of December 2023.

Pension performance overview

The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System Member-Directed Plan as of December 31, 2023:

Ohio Public Employees Retirement System Member-Directed Plan pension performance (2023)
Fiscal year	Percent funded	Unfunded liabilities	Total assets
2023	100.0%	$0	$43,543,661

Assets and asset management

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.

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.”

List of AMCs contracting with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System contracted with 46 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of December 31, 2023. Of those companies or funds, seven were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and five were members of NZAM. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System:

Ohio Public 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	Climate Action 100+ signatory as of October 2024
Atlanta Capital Management Company LLC	U.S. Equity Managers;	661,515,211	0.615%	No	No
Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.	U.S. Equity Managers;	215,939,972	0.201%	No	No
NewSouth Capital Management Inc.	U.S. Equity Managers;	16,826,530	0.016%	No	No
Wasatch Advisors Inc.	U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Westwood Management Corp.	U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Acadian Asset Management LLC	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			Yes	Yes
ARGA Investment Management LP	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	Yes
Ariel Investments LLC	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Arrowstreet Capital LP	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Baillie Gifford Overseas Ltd.	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Management, LLC	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
BlackRock Financial Management Inc.	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Leading Edge Investment Advisors LLC	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Dimensional Fund Advisors	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Fisher Investments	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	Yes
J.P. Morgan Investment Management	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
J O Hambro Capital Management Ltd.	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
LSV Asset Management	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Schroder Investment Management NA Inc.	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Strategic Global Advisors	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
T. Rowe Price International Ltd.	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Lazard Asset Management LLC	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			Yes	Yes
Victory Capital Management Inc.	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Walter Scott & Partners	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Wasatch Advisors Inc.	Non-U.S. Equity Managers;			No	No
Aberdeen Asset Management	Bond Managers;			No	No
Ashmore Investment Management Ltd.	Bond Managers;			No	No
Capital Guardian Trust Company	Bond Managers;			No	No
DoubleLine Capital LP	Bond Managers;			No	No
Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc.	Bond Managers;			No	No
Franklin Templeton Institutional LLC	Bond Managers;			No	No
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisors LLC	Bond Managers;			Yes	Yes
Nomura Group	Bond Managers;			Yes	Yes
Payden & Rygel	Bond Managers;			Yes	Yes
Post Advisory Group	Bond Managers;			No	No
AQR Capital Management LLC	Hedge Fund1 / Risk Parity / Opportunistic Managers;			No	No
Arrowgrass Partnership	Hedge Fund1 / Risk Parity / Opportunistic Managers;			No	No
Beach Point Capital Management	Hedge Fund1 / Risk Parity / Opportunistic Managers;			No	No
BlackRock Financial Management Inc.	Hedge Fund1 / Risk Parity / Opportunistic Managers;			No	No
Bridgewater Associates	Hedge Fund1 / Risk Parity / Opportunistic Managers;			No	No
Oceanwood Capital Management LLP	Hedge Fund1 / Risk Parity / Opportunistic Managers;			No	No
Panagora Asset Management	Hedge Fund1 / Risk Parity / Opportunistic Managers;			No	No
P/E Global LLC	Hedge Fund1 / Risk Parity / Opportunistic Managers;			No	No
OPERS	Hedge Fund1 / Risk Parity / Opportunistic Managers;			No	No

Governance and accountability

This section features information about the 11-member board of trustees that oversees the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. The board is specific to oversight of the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.

Board selection method

The board of trustees that oversees the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System is made up of 11 members. Seven members are elected by their respective membership groups, one member is appointed by the governor, one member is appointed by the state treasurer, one member is appointed by the speaker of the house and the president of the senate, and one member is the director of the Department of Administrative Services.

Board of trustees membership

An 11-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of March 2024:

• Chris Mabe, chair
• Stewart Smith, vice chair
• Julia Albers
• Randy Desposito
• Tim Steitz
• Ken Thomas
• Steve Toth
• Kathleen Madden
• James Kunk
• Scott Richter
• James Tilling

See also

• Public pensions in Ohio
• 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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