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Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma
| Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Top official: | Stephen Streeter, board chair |
| Year founded: | 1943 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2021: | $23,616,515,672 |
- See also: Public pensions in Oklahoma
The Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma is an Oklahoma state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's employees and retirees of more than 600 local school districts, career technology schools, public colleges and universities. The Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma had $23,616,515,672 ($23.6 billion) in total assets under management as of June 30, 2021.[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 Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma, 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 Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma, founded in 1943, invests the assets of and provides funding for the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma based on a formula established by Oklahoma state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's public school teachers, school employees, and their families.[2]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System as of June 30, 2021:[1]
| Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma (June 30, 2021) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets |
| 2021 | 71.5% | $6,730,706,970 | $23,616,515,672 |
Assets and asset management
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
|
| • 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 Oklahoma
The Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma contracted with 42 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of June 30, 2023. Of those companies or funds, seven 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 the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma:[6]
| Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma 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 |
| Frontier | Domestic Equity; | $4,435,972.00 | 3.355% | No | No |
| Geneva Capital | Domestic Equity; | $3,973,437.00 | 3.005% | No | No |
| Northern Trust | Domestic Equity: Russell 3000 Index; | $4,143,498.00 | 3.134% | Yes | Yes |
| Northern Trust | Domestic Equity: SciBeta US 6 Factor Index; | $450,592,863.00 | 2.021% | Yes | Yes |
| Northern Trust | International Equity; | $435,794,700.00 | 1.954% | Yes | Yes |
| Causeway Capital | International Equity; | $4,990,352,855.00 | 22.377% | No | No |
| Hoisington Investment Co. | Fixed Income; | $3,169,876,848.00 | 14.214% | No | No |
| Loomis Sayles | Fixed Income; | $1,900,681,320.00 | 8.523% | No | No |
| Lord Abbett | Fixed Income; | $335,993,159.00 | 1.507% | No | No |
| Mackay Shields | Fixed Income; | $714,084,055.00 | 3.202% | No | No |
| AEW | Real Estate; | $1,425,043,599.00 | 6.390% | No | No |
| Heitman America Real Estate | Real Estate; | $1,371,143,560.00 | 6.148% | No | No |
| L&B Core Income Partners | Real Estate; | $1,401,450,085.00 | 6.284% | No | No |
| American Strategic Value | Real Estate; | $420,731,444.00 | 1.887% | No | No |
| Angelo Gordon X | Real Estate; | $424,567,523.00 | 1.904% | No | No |
| Angelo Gordon XI | Real Estate; | $189,656.00 | 0.001% | No | No |
| Artemis Real Estate III | Real Estate; | $127,400,424.00 | 0.571% | Yes | Yes |
| Artemis Real Estate IV | Real Estate; | $43,968,359.00 | 0.197% | Yes | Yes |
| Blackstone RE Partners X, L.P. | Real Estate; | $9,307,849.00 | 0.042% | No | No |
| Dune Real Estate III | Real Estate; | $29,191,690.00 | 0.131% | No | No |
| Dune Real Estate IV | Real Estate; | $3,173,964.00 | 0.014% | No | No |
| FCP Realty Fund IV, L.P. | Real Estate; | $3,370,237.00 | 0.015% | No | No |
| FCP Realty Fund V, L.P. | Real Estate; | $18,729,214.00 | 0.084% | No | No |
| GreenOak US II | Real Estate; | $47,512,650.00 | 0.213% | No | No |
| GreenOak US III | Real Estate; | $41,986,698.00 | 0.188% | No | No |
| Harbert European Real Estate V | Real Estate; | $70,701,288.00 | 0.317% | No | No |
| Invesco Strategic Realty | Real Estate; | $19,242,483.00 | 0.086% | Yes | No |
| Invesco Real Estate VI | Real Estate; | $41,921,261.00 | 0.188% | Yes | No |
| L&B Golden Driller | Real Estate; | $36,381,890.00 | 0.163% | No | No |
| Landmark Real Estate VII | Real Estate; | $17,138,462.00 | 0.077% | No | No |
| Lyrical-OTRS Realty Partner IV | Real Estate; | $45,203,532.00 | 0.203% | No | No |
| TPG Real Estate IV | Real Estate; | $36,028,062.00 | 0.162% | No | No |
| Starwood Opportunity X | Real Estate; | $5,210,870.00 | 0.023% | No | No |
| Starwood Opportunity XI | Real Estate; | $57,554,859.00 | 0.258% | No | No |
| Starwood Opportunity XII | Real Estate; | $4,022,528.00 | 0.018% | No | No |
| Franklin Park | Private Equity / Private Debt; | $10,989,486.00 | 0.049% | No | No |
| Franklin Park | Private Equity / Private Debt; | $47,595,369.00 | 0.213% | No | No |
| PIMCO Bravo ll | Private Equity / Private Debt; | $33,696,716.00 | 0.151% | No | No |
| PIMCO Bravo III | Private Equity / Private Debt; | $1,504,210,612.00 | 6.745% | No | No |
| PIMCO COF | Private Equity / Private Debt; | $6,331,934.00 | 0.028% | No | No |
| Northern Trust | Cash/other: STIF Account; | $7,062,535.00 | 0.032% | Yes | Yes |
| Northern Trust | Cash/other: Tax Reclaims/Transition; | $152,461,312.00 | 0.684% | Yes | Yes |
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the 15-member board of trustees that oversees the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma. The board is specific to oversight of the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma is made up of 15 members. Six members are appointed by the governor, two members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, two members appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate, one member appointed by the state treasurer, one member appointed by the director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, one member appointed by Professional Oklahoma Educators, one member appointed by the director of Department of Career and Technology Education, and one member appointed by the state superintendent of Public Instruction.[8]
Board of trustees membership
A 15-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of the Teacher Retirement System of Oklahoma. The following individuals served on the board as of April 2024:[8]
- Stephen Streeter, chair
- Kelsey Ardies, vice chair
- Brandy Manek, secretary
- Bill Bentley
- Vernon Florence
- Shanci Garison
- Brent Haken
- Lisa Henderson
- Michael Kellogg
- Brandon Meyer
- Todd Russ
- Marla Tharp
- Chuck Thompson
- Ryan Walters
- Chuck Walworth
See also
- Public pensions in Oklahoma
- 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 Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma, "Annual Comprehensive Financial Report," accessed April 3, 2024 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "report" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System, "About Us," accessed April 3, 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," accessed 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 Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System, "Board of Trustees," accessed April 3, 3034
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