Executive Director’s M

SPRINGFIELD – The Teachers’ Retirement System Board of Trustees has unanimously approved the following statement concerning state funding for the System as presented in the Illinois state budget proposal for fiscal year 2020:

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The salaries and retirement benefits of working and retired public school teachers create a $16.1 billion economic stimulus annually in Illinois, according to a study by Teachers’ Retirement System measuring the impact of TRS members across the state.

The study, completed in November of 2018, revealed that salaries paid to active TRS members teaching in schools and pensions and benefits paid to retired members also support 110,600 jobs in every part of Illinois with a combined payroll of $4.7 billion.

SPRINGFIELD – The Teachers’ Retirement System Board of Trustees today approved series of investments totaling $905 million, including an initial $50 million commitment through the System’s Emerging Manager Program to a two-year-old woman-owned money management firm. 

The initial commitment of $50 million to Quadratic Capital Management of Greenwich, Connecticut, included the potential for additional TRS commitments that could total as much as $100 million for investment opportunities in absolute return strategies. 

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The trustees of Teachers’ Retirement System today committed up to $200 million within the System’s $5.2 billion Private Equity portfolio to Riverstone Holdings of New York, New York for opportunities within the energy sector of the economy. Riverstone already administers $372.2 million in TRS assets.

In other action by the Board of Trustees during its scheduled meeting in March, the trustees:

SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Teachers’ Retirement System has issued a Request for Proposals seeking currency managers to manage a portion of the System’s foreign currency exposure.

SPRINGFIELD – Andrew J. Hirshman of Oak Park and Cinda J. Klickna of Rochester have been elected by active members of Teachers’ Retirement System to the retirement fund’s Board of Trustees, according to preliminary results of the 2015 Trustee election announced today.

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Teachers’ Retirement System today hired Axiom International Investors to administer emerging market investments within the System’s $9.4 billion International Equity portfolio.

Axiom, based in Greenwich, Connecticut, was given a mandate to oversee approximately $282 million in TRS assets, or 3 percent of the overall International Equity portfolio. The TRS Board of Trustees launched an international search for a new money manager to administer this mandate in December of 2014.

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The trustees of Teachers’ Retirement System today approved the issuance of a formal “request for proposals” seeking consulting services for potential co-investment opportunities within the System’s $4.9 billion Private Equity portfolio.

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Preliminary estimates indicate that Teachers’ Retirement System investments generated a positive 4.1 percent rate of return, gross of fees, during fiscal year 2015.

TRS ended FY 2015 on June 30 with $45.8 billion in assets, which places the System among the top 40 largest pension funds in the United States.