Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana
| Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Top official: | Holly Bridges Gildig, chair |
| Year founded: | 1936 |
| Active members: | 88,527 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $26,651,188,968 |
- See also: Public pensions in Louisiana
The Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) is a Louisiana state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's teachers, school administrators, and other select public school employees. TRSL had $26,651,188,968 ($26.7 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 TRSL.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by TRSL.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with TRSL, 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 TRSL's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL), founded in 1936, invests the assets of and provides funding for the retirement of Louisiana's teachers, school administrators, and other select public school employees. It operates as a defined benefit plan.[2]
TRSL served over 88,527 active members and approximately 83,525 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 Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana as of June 30, 2023:[1]
| Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana pension performance (June 30, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets |
| 2023 | 75.8% | $8,507,931,509 | $26,651,188,968 |
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 Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana
The Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) contracted with 38 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of November 17, 2023. Of those companies, nine were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and nine were members of NZAM, as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with TRSL:[6]
| Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) 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 |
| Loomis Sayles & Company, L.P. | Core Plus Fixed Income; | No | No | ||
| Income Research & Management | Domestic Investment Grade Fixed Income; | No | No | ||
| JP Morgan Asset Management | Domestic Investment Grade Fixed Income; | Yes | No | ||
| Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | Global Bonds; | No | No | ||
| Brandywine Global Investment Management | Global Bonds; | Yes | Yes | ||
| Nomura Corporate Research and Asset Management Inc | U.S. High Yield; | Yes | Yes | ||
| Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited | Large-Cap Growth; | Yes | Yes | ||
| Counterpoint Global (formerly Morgan Stanley). | Large-Cap Growth; | No | No | ||
| T Rowe Price Associates Inc | Large-Cap Growth; | Yes | No | ||
| LSV Asset Management | Large-Cap Value; | No | No | ||
| Putnam Advisory Company, LLC | Large-Cap Value; | No | No | ||
| PGIM Quantitative Solutions, LLC (formerly QMA LLC) | SMID Core; | No | No | ||
| William Blair Investment Management LLC | SMID Core; | No | Yes | ||
| Driehaus Capital Management LLC | Small-Cap Growth; | No | No | ||
| T Rowe Price Associates Inc | Small-Cap Growth; | Yes | No | ||
| Mesirow Institutional Investment Management, Inc. | Small-Cap Value; | No | No | ||
| Macquarie Investment Management Advisers | Mid-Cap Growth; | Yes | Yes | ||
| Boston Partners Global Investors, Inc. | Mid-Cap Value; | No | No | ||
| Hamilton Lane Advisors, LLC | Private Markets; | No | No | ||
| HarbourVest Partners, LLC | Co-Investment; | No | No | ||
| Artisan Partners, LP | International Large-Cap Growth; | No | No | ||
| Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited | International Large-Cap Growth; | Yes | Yes | ||
| LSV Asset Management | International Large-Cap Value; | No | No | ||
| MFS Institutional Advisors Inc | International Large-Cap Value; | No | Yes | ||
| Mondrian Investment Partners Limited | International Small Cap; | No | No | ||
| Oberweis Asset Management, Inc. | International Small Cap; | No | No | ||
| RhumbLine Advisers | Domestic Equity Index; | No | No | ||
| Franklin Templeton Asset Management Ltd. | Emerging Market Equity; | No | No | ||
| William Blair Investment Management LLC | Emerging Market Equity; | No | Yes | ||
| Ares Capital Management III LLC | Multi-Asset Credit; | No | No | ||
| HPS Investment Partners, LLC | Multi-Asset Credit; | No | No | ||
| Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC | Multi-Asset Credit; | Yes | Yes | ||
| Cohen & Steers Capital Management, Inc. | Global REIT; | No | No | ||
| Dimensional Fund Advisors | Consultants; | No | No | ||
| BNY Mellon | Global Custodian; | No | No | ||
| Aon Investments USA Inc. | Consultants; | No | No | ||
| Mercer Investments, LLC | Consultants; | No | No | ||
| BNY Mellon Asset Servicing | Securities Lending Vendor; | No | No | ||
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the 17-member board of trustees that oversees the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL). The board is specific to oversight of TRSL and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees TRSL is made up of 17 members. Twelve are elected by the active and retired membership including seven district representatives, one representative for parish and city superintendents, one representative for state colleges and universities, one representative for school food service personnel, and two representatives for retired TRSL members. Four members serve ex-officio, and include the state superintendent of education, the state treasurer, the chair of the Senate Retirement Committee, the commissioner of the Division of Administration. The final member is appointed by the speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.[8]
Board of trustees membership
A 17-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of TRSL. The following individuals served on the board as of July 2024:[8]
- Holly Bridges Gildig, chair
- Neshelle S. Nogess, vice chair
- Mark Curry-Theriot
- Tia T. Mills
- Marco French
- Marcella Fisher
- Phillip P. Oliver
- Clyde F. Hamner
- James A. Taylor, Sr.
- Sommer Purvis
- Thomas F. Stafford
- Hollis Milton
- Sen. Edward J. "Ed" Price
- Rep. Aimee Adatto Freeman
- John C. Fleming
- Taylor Barras
- Cade Brumley
See also
- Public pensions in Louisiana
- 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 TRSL, "Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana June 30, 2023 Actuarial Valuation," July 23, 2024
- ↑ TRSL, "About TRSL," July 23, 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 TRSL, "TRSL Board of Trustees," July 23, 2024
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