Iowa Public Employees Retirement System

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Iowa Public Employees Retirement System
Basic facts
Location:	Des Moines, Iowa
Top official:	Gregory Samorajski, chief executive officer
Year founded:	1953
Active members:	170,475
Website:	Official website
Total assets under management
2023:	$41.0 billion

See also: Public pensions in Iowa

The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System (IPERS) is a Iowa state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to public employees in the state of Iowa and their families. The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System had $41.0 billion in total assets under management as of June 30, 2023.

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 Iowa Public Employees Retirement System.
• Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System.
• Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Iowa Public Employees 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 Iowa Public Employees Retirement System's oversight board, including members and selection.

Background

See also: Public pensions

The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System, founded in 1953, operates as a defined benefit plan based on a formula established by Iowa state law. These plans—based on the employee's length of service and salary— provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to public employees in the state of Iowa and their families.

The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System served over 170,475 active members and 133,575 retirees and beneficiaries as of 2023.

Pension performance overview

The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System as of June 2023:

Employees Retirement System of Iowa (June 2023)
Fiscal year	Percent funded	Unfunded liabilities	Total assets
2023	49.7%	$4.7 billion	$41.0 billion

Assets and asset management

Asset management companies (AMCs) contract with pension funds to manage asset investment. Some pension funds contract with multiple AMCs, some contract with a single AMC, and others make their own investment decisions without contracting with an AMC.

More than 300 AMCs as of December 2022 were members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), and 362 asset managers as of June 2023 were investor participants in the Climate Action 100+ initiative. Both international asset manager initiatives aim to align signatory investment decisions with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

List of AMCs contracting with the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System

The Iowa Public Employees Retirement System contracted with 56 asset management companies (AMCs) as of June 2022. Of those companies or funds, 23 were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and 18 were members of NZAM as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System:

• Aegon USA (NZAM)
• Ares Private Credit Solutions II
• ArrowMark
• Audax Mezzanine Coinvest IA
• Blackrock (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock - Canada (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock - U.S. Alpha Tilt (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock EAFE SAE (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock EM SAE (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock Europe Alpha Tilt (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock SAE (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• BlackRock Universal Alpha (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• BlackRock Universal Beta (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• BMO EAFE (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• BREDS II
• Clarion Partners
• Columbia EAFE Equity (Climate Action 100+)
• Crestline Opps Credit IA
• Forest Invest
• International Equity Transition
• Invesco (NZAM)
• Janus (Climate Action 100+)
• KKR Goldfinch
• Legacy Portfolio
• Mackay Shields
• Marathon SPS IA Fund, L.P.
• Mellon - S&P (Climate Action 100+)
• Mellon - S&P Five Hundred (Climate Action 100+)
• Mellon - Wilshire Fourty Five Hundred (Climate Action 100+)
• Mellon Passive Emerging (Climate Action 100+)
• Mellon SLH Agg (Climate Action 100+)
• Monroe Capital
• Oaktree Capital Management
• Oechsle
• PanAgora Dynamic EAFE
• Passive - Blackrock EAFE
• Pathway PE Fund XXV
• PGIM GLRV Alpha
• PGIM GLRV Beta
• PGIM High Yield
• PGIM RE Global Debt
• Principal Global Investors
• Principal RE Debt II
• Prudential
• Prudential EMD
• Rhumbline Advisers
• RREEF
• TCW
• Tennenbaum Capital
• UBS - Developed ex US (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• UBS - EM (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• UBS - US (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• UBS Farmland Investors (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• UBS Realty (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Wellington EM (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Western

Governance and accountability

This section features information about the 11-member board of trustees that oversees the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System. The board is specific to oversight of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds.

Board selection method

The board of trustees that oversees the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System is made up of 11 members:

Voting members:

• Three public members appointed by the Governor, who are not members of IPERS
• Two members appointed by the Governor, who are members of IPERS
• A retired member of IPERS.
• The State Treasurer.

Non Voting members:

• Two state representatives.
• Two state senators.

Board of trustees membership

A 11-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of June 2023:

• Justin Kirchhoff, chair
• Bill Bemis, vice chair
• Roby Smith
• Tami Loge
• Kris Rowley
• Mathew Watters
• Molly Donahue
• Mark Lofgren
• Martin Graber
• Amy Nielson
• one vacancy

See also

• Public pensions in Iowa
• Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
• Areas of inquiry and disagreement related to 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

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