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Utah Tier 1 Judges' Retirement System

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Utah Tier 1 Judges' Retirement System
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Basic facts
Location:Salt Lake City, Utah
Top official:Karl W. Wilson, president
Year founded:1949
Active members:121
Website:Official website
Total assets under management
2023:$283,922,000
See also: Public pensions in Utah

The Utah Tier 1 Judges' Retirement System (Tier 1 JRS) is a Utah state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's judges or justices of the courts of record and their families. The Utah Tier 1 Judges' Retirement System had $283,922,000 ($283.9 million) in total assets under management as of December 31, 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

See also: Public pensions

The Utah Tier 1 Judges' Retirement System (Tier 1 JRS), founded in 1949, is a sub-fund under Utah Retirement Systems. Tier 1 JRS operates as a defined benefit plan based on a formula established by Utah state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's judges or justices of the courts of record and their families.[2][3]

Tier 1 JRS served over 121 active members and approximately 166 retirees and beneficiaries as of December 31, 2023.[1]

Pension performance overview

The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Utah Tier 1 Judges' Retirement System as of December 31, 2023:[1]

Utah Tier 1 Judges' Retirement System performance (December 31, 2023)
Fiscal year Percent funded Unfunded liabilities Total assets
2023 90.1% $31,318,000 $283,922,000

Assets and asset management

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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 Utah Tier 1 Judges' Retirement System

The Utah Tier 1 Judges' Retirement System is a sub-fund of Utah Retirement Systems (URS). URS administers Tier 1 JRS, among other retirement and benefit plans for the public employees of Utah. Tier 1 JRS does not contract with its own AMCs; the AMCs for URS account for all the pension plans it administers.[7]

URS contracted with 14 asset management companies (AMCs) as of December 31, 2024. Of those companies or funds, two were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and two were members of NZAM as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with URS:[7]

Utah Tier 1 Judges' 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
Albourne America LLC ; No No
Callan Associates, Inc. ; No No
Glass Lewis & Company ; No No
Northern Trust Company ; No No
BlackRock ; Yes No
Charles Schwab & Co. ; No No
Dimensional Fund Advisors, Inc. ; No No
Dodge & Cox Investment ; No No
Insight Investment ; No Yes
Jennison Associates LLC ; No Yes
Northern Trust Company ; No No
PGIM Real ; No No
T Rowe Price ; Yes No
Utah Retirement Systems ; No No

Governance and accountability

This section features information about the seven-member board of trustees, titled the Utah Retirement Systems Board, which oversees the Utah Tier 1 Judges' Retirement System (Tier 1 JRS). The board is not specific to overseeing Tier 1 JRS and does exercise oversight duties for other state funds.[9]

Board selection method

The board of trustees that oversees Tier 1 JRS, titled the Utah Retirement Systems Board, is made up of seven members. The members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Utah Senate. They serve four-year terms.[9]

Board of trustees membership

A seven-member board of trustees, titled the Utah Retirement Systems Board, oversees the operation and administration of Tier 1 JRS. The following individuals served on the board as of October 2024:[9]

  • Karl W. Wilson, president
  • Christie N. Behunin, vice-president
  • Larry W. Evans
  • Richard K. Ellis
  • Aaryn S. Birchell
  • Laura C. Warnock
  • Marlo M. Oaks

See also

External links

Footnotes