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Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System
| Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Top official: | David Clark, executive director |
| Year founded: | 1981 |
| Active members: | 7,017 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2022: | $2,507,771,950 |
- See also: Public pensions in Arkansas
The Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System (LOPFI) is an Arkansas state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to Arkansas' paid and volunteer local police officers and firefighters. LOPFI had $2,507,771,950 ($2.5 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 LOPFI.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by LOPFI.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with LOPFI, 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 LOPFI's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System (LOPFI), founded in 1981, is a defined benefit plan that invests the assets of and provides funding for the pensions of Arkansas' local policemen and firefighters. [2]
LOPFI served over 7,017 active members and approximately 8,182 retirees and beneficiaries as of February 2024.[2]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System as of December 31, 2022:[1]
| Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System pension performance (December 31, 2022) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total market value of assets |
| 2022 | 73% | $1,113,634,008 | $2,507,771,950 |
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 Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System
The Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System (LOPFI) contracted with 27 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of December 31, 2023. Of those companies, four were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and five were members of NZAM, as of October 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with LOPFI:[6]:[6]
| Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System (LOPFI) 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 |
| Alternative Investment Management (AIM) | Fixed income; | 41,370,412 | 1.294% | No | No |
| Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss | Domestic equity; | 188,169,493 | 5.884% | No | No |
| Blue Owl | ; | 76,741,879 | 2.400% | No | No |
| Candlewood Credit Value Fund | ; | No | No | ||
| Citigroup Private Equity | Private Equity; | 140,993 | 0.004% | No | No |
| Congress Asset Management | Domestic equity; | 85,616,759 | 2.677% | No | No |
| Dodge & Cox | Domestic equity; | 204,480,573 | 6.394% | No | No |
| DoubleLine Funds | Fixed income; | 116,579,892 | 3.645% | No | No |
| EnCap Investments L.P. | ; | 11,487,056 | 0.359% | No | No |
| Garcia, Hamilton & Associates | Fixed income; | 157,645,893 | 4.929% | No | No |
| Goldentree Select Offshore Fund, LTD | Fixed income; | 73,949,469 | 2.312% | No | No |
| Goldman Sachs Asset Management | ; | 10,132,985 | 0.317% | No | Yes |
| HPS Specialty Loan Fund V, L.P. | ; | 25,082,282 | 0.784% | No | No |
| JP Morgan Investment Management Inc (Real Estate & Infrastructure) | Fixed income; | 29,202,064 | 0.913% | Yes | No |
| KKR and Company Inc. | Fixed income; | 25,349,204 | 0.793% | No | No |
| Lazard Asset Management | Domestic equity; | 215,047,672 | 6.724% | Yes | Yes |
| Loomis Sayles Trust Company, LLC | Fixed income; | 78,162,374 | 2.444% | No | No |
| Neuberger Berman | ; | 432,098 | 0.014% | Yes | Yes |
| Pacific Investment Management Company | Fixed income; | 169,973,193 | 5.315% | No | No |
| Riverstone Credit Partners II, L.P. | ; | 12,781,450 | 0.400% | No | No |
| Silver Lake Partners VII, L.P. | ; | No | No | ||
| Snyder Capital Management, L.P. | Domestic equity; | 79,195,004 | 2.476% | No | No |
| State Street Global Advisors | Domestic equity; | 682,470,147 | 21.340% | Yes | No |
| Wellington Management Company | Domestic equity, international equity; | 501,928,544 | 15.695% | Yes | Yes |
| Western Asset Management Company (WAMCO) | Fixed income; | 100,926,562 | 3.156% | No | No |
| WP Global Partners LLC | ; | 28,774,953 | 0.900% | No | No |
| Owl Rock Corporate | Domestic equity; | 19,404,411 | 0.607% | No | No |
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the seven-member board of trustees that oversees the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System. The board is specific to oversight of LOPFI and does not oversight duties for other state funds.[2]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees the LOPFI is made up of seven members. Two governor-appointed member trustees, one firefighter and one police officer; two retired member trustees, who are selected by the Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Programs and appointed by the governor; two governor-appointed employer trustees that are elected or appointed officials in participating localities, who are subject to state senate confirmation; and one citizen employee selected from a list put together by the Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Programs.[2]
Board of trustees membership
A seven-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of LOPFI. The following individuals served on the board as of March 2024:[2]
- John Neal, chairman
- J. Scott Baxter, vice chairman
- Mayor Gary Baxter
- Tim Hill
- Damon Reed
- Andrew Branch
- Vacant position
See also
- Public pensions in Arkansas
- 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 LOPFI, "Reports, Compiled Valuations," March 11, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 LOPFI, "Forms, etc.," March 11, 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
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 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.
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