Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi
| Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Jackson, Mississippi |
| Top official: | Kelly Breland, board chair |
| Year founded: | 1952 |
| Active members: | 349,768 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $31,621,983,000 |
- See also: Public pensions in Mississippi
The Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) is a Mississippi state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to employees of Mississippi state agencies, public schools, community/junior colleges, and universities, counties, cities, other participating political subdivisions, and their families. The Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi had $31,621,983,000 ($31.6 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 PERS.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by PERS.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with PERS, 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 PERS's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS), founded in 1952, operates as a defined benefit plan based on a formula established by Mississippi state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to employees of Mississippi state agencies, public schools, community/junior colleges, universities, counties, cities, other participating political subdivisions, and their families.[2]
PERS served over 349,768 active members and approximately 114,462 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 Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi as of June 30, 2023:[1]
| Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi performance (June 30, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets |
| 2023 | 55.70% | $25,151,320,000 | $31,621,983,000 |
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 Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi
The Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi contracted with 58 asset management companies (AMCs) as of June 30, 2024. Of those companies or funds, 13 were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and 13 were members of NZAM as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi:[6]
| Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi 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 |
| Northern Trust Asset Management | Equity Securities: Passive Large Cap (S&P 500 Index) | $74,281 | 0.000% | No | No |
| Northern Trust Asset Management | Equity Securities: MSCI World Ex-US | $36,392,946 | 0.115% | No | No |
| Acadian Asset Management LLC | Equity Securities: Global | $28,386,376 | 0.090% | Yes | Yes |
| Epoch Investment Partners Inc | Equity Securities: Global | 17.64% | No | Yes | |
| Harding Loevner, LP | Equity Securities: Global | 6.96% | No | No | |
| Eagle Capital Management | Equity Securities: Large Cap | 3.27% | No | No | |
| LSV Asset Management | Equity Securities: Global | 3.16% | No | No | |
| Marathon Asset Management, LLP | Equity Securities: ACWI Ex-US | 2.89% | No | No | |
| Arrowstreet Capital, LP | Equity Securities: ACWI Ex-US | 2.79% | No | No | |
| Baillie Gifford & Company | Equity Securities: ACWI Ex-US | 2.62% | Yes | Yes | |
| Lazard Asset Management LLC | Equity Securities: Emerging Markets | 2.59% | Yes | Yes | |
| Fisher Investments | Equity Securities: Emerging Markets | 2.50% | No | Yes | |
| Victory Capital Management, Inc. | Equity Securities: Domestic Mid Cap Value | 2.28% | No | No | |
| Artisan Partners, LP | Equity Securities: Domestic Mid Cap Growth | 2.24% | No | No | |
| Principal Global Investors, LLC | Equity Securities: International Small Cap | 1.98% | No | No | |
| Wellington Management Company LLP | Equity Securities: Domestic Small Cap Core | 1.72% | Yes | Yes | |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors, Inc. | Equity Securities: Small Cap Value | 1.33% | No | No | |
| Mondrian Investment Partners Limited | Equity Securities: International Small Cap | 1.12% | No | No | |
| Riverbridge Partners, LLC | Equity Securities: Small Cap Growth | 1.04% | No | No | |
| Loomis Sayles & Company, LP | Debt Securities: Core Plus | 0.99% | No | No | |
| Prudential Financial, Inc. | Debt Securities: Core Plus | 0.99% | No | No | |
| AllianceBernstein LP | Debt Securities: Global | 0.96% | Yes | Yes | |
| Pacific Investment Management Company | Debt Securities: Global | 3.47% | No | No | |
| Pacific Investment Management Company | Debt Securities: Domestic Core | 3.47% | No | No | |
| Manulife Investment Management | Debt Securities: Domestic Core | 2.30% | No | Yes | |
| Wellington Management Company LLP | Debt Securities: Emerging Market | 2.29% | Yes | Yes | |
| Northern Trust Asset Investment | Debt Securities: Passive Domestic Core (BB Agg Index) | 2.03% | No | No | |
| Principal Global Investors, LLC | Real Estate: Core | 2.02% | No | No | |
| JP Morgan Investment Management Inc | Real Estate: Core | 2.00% | Yes | No | |
| UBS Realty Investors LLC | Real Estate: TPF Core | 1.09% | Yes | Yes | |
| UBS Realty Investors LLC | Real Estate: TPG Core Plus | 3.00% | Yes | Yes | |
| Invesco LP | Real Estate: Core | 1.54% | Yes | No | |
| CenterSquare Investment Management | Real Estate: Domestic REITs | 1.33% | No | Yes | |
| T.A. Associates Realty | Real Estate: Fund XII - value added | 0.90% | No | No | |
| Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Inc. | Real Estate: Global REITs | 0.59% | No | No | |
| Invesco LP | Real Estate: Fund V - value added | 0.39% | Yes | No | |
| AEW Capital Management, LP | Real Estate: Fund IX - value added | 0.36% | No | No | |
| Angelo Gordon & Company | Real Estate: Fund X - value added | 0.31% | No | No | |
| Manulife Investment Management | Real Estate: Timber | 0.24% | No | Yes | |
| Heitman, LLC | Real Estate: Fund IV - value added | 0.19% | No | No | |
| T.A. Associates Realty | Real Estate: Fund XI - value added | 0.18% | No | No | |
| Heitman, LLC | Real Estate: Fund V - value added | 0.15% | No | No | |
| Invesco LP | Real Estate: Fund VI - value added | 0.14% | Yes | No | |
| Westbrook Partners | Real Estate: Fund XI - value added | 0.11% | No | No | |
| Angelo Gordon & Company | Real Estate: Fund IV - value added | 0.11% | No | No | |
| Westbrook Partners | Real Estate: Fund X - value added | 0.11% | No | No | |
| T.A. Associates Realty | Real Estate: Fund X - value added | 0.10% | No | No | |
| AEW Capital Management, LP | Real Estate: Fund VIII - value added | 0.07% | No | No | |
| Angelo Gordon & Company | Real Estate: Fund XI - value added | 0.07% | No | No | |
| AEW Capital Management, LP | Real Estate: Fund VII - value added | 0.05% | No | No | |
| Invesco LP | Real Estate: Fund IV - value added | 0.05% | Yes | No | |
| Pathway Capital Management, LLC | Private Equity: Series 2016 Diversified | 0.02% | No | No | |
| Pathway Capital Management, LLC | Private Equity: Series 2013 Diversified | 0.01% | No | No | |
| GCM Grosvenor Diversified Partners, LP | Private Equity: Series 2014 Diversified | 0.01% | No | No | |
| GCM Grosvenor Diversified Partners, LP | Private Equity: Series 2018 Diversified | 3.99% | No | No | |
| Pathway Capital Management, LLC | Private Equity: Series 2008 Diversified | 2.53% | No | No | |
| Pathway Capital Management, LLC | Private Equity: Series 2021 Diversified | 2.30% | No | No | |
| GCM Grosvenor Diversified Partners, LP | Private Equity: Series 2009 Diversified | 1.24% | No | No | |
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the 10-member board of trustees that oversees the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi. The board is not specific to oversight of the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi and exercises oversight duties for other state funds.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees PERS is made up of 10 members. The members include the state treasurer, one gubernatorial appointee who is a member of PERS, two state employees, two PERS retirees, one representative of public schools and community/junior colleges, one representative of the state’s institutions of higher learning, one representative of the participating municipalities, and one representative of the participating counties. [8]
Board of trustees membership
A 10-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of PERS. The following individuals served on the board as of October 2024:[8]
- Kelly Breland, chair
- Bill Benson, vice chair
- George Dale
- Chris Graham
- Kimberly Hanna
- Randy D. McCoy
- David McRae
- Brian Rutledge
- Jay Smith
- Terrance Yarbrough
See also
- Public pensions in Mississippi
- 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 [https://www.pers.ms.gov/sites/default/files/Content/GASB%20Resource%20Materials/2023/Miss%20PERS%20GASB%2068%202023%20FINAL.pdf PERS of Mississippi, "Report of the Annual GASB Statement No. 68 Required Information for the Employers Participating in the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi as of June 30, 2023]
- ↑ PERS Mississippi, "Member Handbook; Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi," October 28, 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 "PERS", "PERS Board of Directors," accessed June 24, 2024
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