Texas County and District Retirement System
| Texas County and District Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Austin, Texas |
| Top official: | Mary Louise Nicholson, chair |
| Year founded: | 1967 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2022: | $42,355,000,000 |
- See also: Public pensions in Texas
The Texas County and District Retirement System is a Texas state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's county and district employees. The Texas County and District Retirement System had $42,355,000,000 ($42.35 billion) in total assets under management as of December 31, 2022.[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 Texas County and District Retirement System.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Texas County and District Retirement System.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Texas County and District 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 Texas County and District Retirement System's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
Texas County and District Retirement System (TCDRS) was established in 1967 and provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits to 831 Texas counties and districts, including water, hospital, appraisal and emergency service districts. TCDRS is a savings-based plan where the benefit is based on how much a member has saved over the course of their career and employer matching at retirement. Although created by the Texas Legislature, TCDRS does not receive funding from the State of Texas.[2]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Texas County and District Retirement System as of December 31, 2022:[1]
| Texas County and District Retirement System pension performance (December 31, 2022) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets[3] |
| 2022 | 89% | $5,720,400,000 | $42,355,000,000 |
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.[4][5]
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.”[6]
List of AMCs contracting with the Texas County and District Retirement System
The Texas County and District Retirement System contracted with 13 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of December 31, 2023. Of those companies, 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 Texas County and District Retirement System:[7]
| Texas County and District 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[8] | Climate Action 100+ signatory as of October 2024 |
| Marshall Wace LLP | Global Equities, Emerging Market Equities; | No | Yes | ||
| Viking Global Fund L.P. | Global Equities; | No | No | ||
| State Street Global Advisors | Developed International Equity, Domestic Equities, Emerging Market Equities; | Yes | No | ||
| Marathon | Developed International Equity; | No | No | ||
| Dimensional Fund Advisors | Emerging Market Equities, REITs; | No | No | ||
| JP Morgan | Emerging Market Equities; | Yes | No | ||
| Wellington Trust Co | Emerging Market Equities, Commodities; | Yes | Yes | ||
| Cohen & Steers Capital Management | REITs; | No | No | ||
| Dodge & Cox | Investment-Grade Bonds; | No | No | ||
| Jennison Associates | Investment-Grade Bonds; | No | Yes | ||
| PGIM Fixed Income | Investment-Grade Bonds; | No | No | ||
| Gresham Investment Management LLC | Commidities; | No | No | ||
| Harvest Fund Advisors | Master Limited Partnerships; | No | No | ||
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the nine-member board of trustees that oversees the Texas County and District Retirement System. The board is specific to oversight of the Texas County and District Retirement System and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[9]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the Texas County and District Retirement System is made up of nine members. The nine-member board is composed of system members and retirees appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate.[9]
Board of trustees membership
A nine-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of Texas County and District Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of April 2024:[9]
- Mary Louise Nicholson, chair
- Deborah Hunt, vice chair
- Tammy Biggar
- Chris Davis
- Sammy Farias
- Susan Fletcher
- Ronnie Keister
- Chris Taylor
- Holly Williamson
See also
- Public pensions in Texas
- 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 ‘’TCDRS’’, “Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,” December 31, 2022
- ↑ ‘’Texas Pension Review Board’’, “Texas County and District Retirement System.” accessed April 21, 2024
- ↑ Note: By default, this refers to the actuarial valuation of total assets. In some cases, the total market value of assets is shown instead. See the cited source for details.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 ‘’TCDRS’’, “Governance,” accessed April 21, 2024
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