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TRS Commits More Than $1.8 Billion To Investment Opportunities

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SPRINGFIELD, IL – Teachers’ Retirement System has committed more than $1.8 billion to various investment opportunities; all designed to advance the mission of TRS on behalf of its 417,000 members.

During a regularly scheduled meeting of the TRS Board of Trustees, the System’s investment staff reported the following actions:

Within the $16.9 billion Public Equity Portfolio:

TRS Members Boost Economy By $16.1 Billion Annually

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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.

TRS Expands WMBE Participation in System Investments

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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. 

TRS Commits $600 Million to Expand Existing Investments

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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:

TRS Hires Firm to Manage International Emerging Markets

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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.

TRS Earns a 4.1% Rate of Investment Return for Fiscal Year 2015

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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.

TRS Earns a 4.6% Rate of Investment Return for Fiscal Year 2015

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SPRINGFIELD, IL – Teachers’ Retirement System investments generated a positive 4.6 percent rate of return, gross of fees, during fiscal year 2015 – a return that matched the System’s custom investment benchmark for FY 2015.

TRS ended FY 2015 on June 30 with $46 billion in assets, which places the System among the top 23 largest public pension funds in the United States. Net of fees, the TRS return for FY 2015 was 4.0 percent.

The 30-year investment return for TRS is 9.1 percent, net of fees, which exceeds the System’s long-term investment goal of 7.5 percent.