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West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System
| West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Charleston, West Virginia |
| Top official: | Joseph G. Bunn, chair |
| Year founded: | 1998 |
| Active members: | 1,073 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2022: | $298,002,000 |
- See also: Public pensions in West Virginia
The West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System is a West Virginia state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's deputy sheriffs. The West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System had $298,002,000 ($298 million) in total assets under management as of June 30, 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 West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' 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 West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs’ Retirement System, founded in 1998, is a sub-fund under West Virginia Consolidated Retirement Board. It adminsters the public pensions and retirement benefits of deputy sheriffs in the state. The West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System served over 1,073 active members and approximately 556 retirees as of July 2023.[2]
West Virginia Consolidated Retirement Board invests the assets of and provides funding for
- the West Virginia Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS);
- the West Virginia Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS);
- the West Virginia State Police Death, Disability and Retirement Fund;
- the West Virginia State Police Retirement Fund;
- the West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs’ Retirement System (DSRS);
- the West Virginia Judges’ Retirement System (JRS);
- the West Virginia Emergency Medical Services Retirement System (EMSRS); and
- the West Virginia Municipal Police and Firefighters Retirement System (MPFRS).
These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary—provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's public sector employees.[2]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System as of June 2022:[1]
| West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System pension performance (June 2022) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets |
| 2022 | 88.4% | $39,063,000 | $298,002,000 |
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 West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System
The West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board, which manages the West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System contracted with 21 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of June 30, 2024. Of those companies, three were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and four were members of NZAM as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the West Virginia Public Employees' Retirement System:[6]
| West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' 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[7] | Climate Action 100+ signatory as of October 2024 |
| BlackRock Institutional Trust Company | Portable Alpha Pool US Large Cap; | Yes | No | ||
| Russell Investment Implementation Services | Portable Alpha Pool US Large Cap; | Yes | Yes | ||
| Hedge Fund Commottee/Albourne America (consultant) | Portable Alpha Pool US Large Cap; | No | No | ||
| BlackRock Institutional Trust Company | Large Cap Domestic Equity Pool; | Yes | No | ||
| Cooper Creek Partners Mangement | Non-Large Cap Domestic Equity Pool; | No | No | ||
| Westfield Capital Management Company | Non-Large Cap Domestic Equity Pool; | No | No | ||
| Silchester International Investors | International Qualified and International Nonqualified Pools International Large Cap; | No | No | ||
| LSV Asset Management | International Equity Pool International Large Cap; | No | No | ||
| Acadian Asset Management | International Equity Pool International Small Cap; | Yes | Yes | ||
| Oberweis Asset Management | International Equity Pool International Small Cap; | No | No | ||
| Axiom International Investors | International Equity Pool Emerging Markets; | No | Yes | ||
| Numberic Investors | International Equity Pool Emerging Markets; | No | No | ||
| Western Asset Management Company | Total Return Fixed Income Pool; | No | No | ||
| Dodge & Cox | Total Return Fixed Income Pool; | No | No | ||
| Franklin Templeton Investments | Total Return Fixed Income Pool; | No | No | ||
| JPMorgan Investment Advisors | Core Fixed Income Pool; | No | No | ||
| Northern Trust Investments | TIPS Pool; | No | No | ||
| Franklin Park | Private Markets Pool; | No | No | ||
| StepStone Group | Private Markets Pool; | No | No | ||
| Verus | Private Markets Pool; | No | No | ||
| Albourne America | Hedge Fund Pool; | No | No | ||
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the 17-member board of trustees that oversees the West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System. The board is not specific to oversight of the West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System and does oversight duties for other state funds.[8]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System is made up of 17 members. One member is the governor, one member is the state auditor, one member is the state treasurer, one member is the secretary of the Department of Administration, four members are residents of the state that are not members, retirements, or beneficiaries of any of the state public retirement systems, and a representative from each of the state’s nine retirement systems. [8]
Board of trustees membership
A 17-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of West Virginia Deputy Sheriffs' Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of June 2023:[8]
- James G. Bunn, chair
- Michael McKown, vice chair
- Governor James C. Justice
- State Auditor John B. McCuskey
- State Treasurer Riley Moore
- Mark D. Scott
- William A. Barker, Jr.
- Rhonda Bolyard
- Woodrow W. Brogan, III
- Daniel Cart
- Larry W. Cole
- Michael Corsaro
- Brad Mankins
- Beth K. Morgan
- D. Todd Murray
- Dominique N. Ranieri
- C. Jeffrey Vallet
See also
- Public pensions in West Virginia
- 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 ‘’West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board’’, “Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,” June 30, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 ‘’West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board’’, “About Us,” accessed July 19, 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 ‘’West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board’’, “Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,” June 30, 2023
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