Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System

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Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System
Basic facts
Location:	Richmond, Virginia
Top official:	A. Scott Andrews, chair
Year founded:	1999
Active members:	7,524
Website:	Official website
Total assets under management
2023:	$1,789,127,000

See also: Public pensions in Virginia

The Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System is a Virginia state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state’s law enforcement officers. The Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System had $1,789,127,000 ($1.79 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 Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System.
• Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System.
• Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with Virginia 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 Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System’s oversight board, including members and selection.

Background

See also: Public pensions

The Virginia Retirement System, founded in 1942, invests the assets of and provides funding for the Virginia Retirement System (VRS), the Virginia State Police Officers’ Retirement System (SPORS), the Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System (VaLORS), and the Virginia Judicial Retirement System (JRS). VRS, SPORS, VaLORS, and JRS all operate as defined benefit pension plans based on a formula established by Virginia state law. 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.

The Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System served over 7,524 active members and approximately 5,853 retirees and beneficiaries as of June 2023.

Pension performance overview

The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System as of June 2023:

Virginia Retirement System pension performance (June 30, 2023)
Fiscal year	Percent funded	Unfunded liabilities	Total assets
2023	74.91%	$2,577,980	$1,789,127,000

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 Virginia Retirement System

The Virginia Retirement System contracted with 77 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of June 30, 2021. Of those companies, eight were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and eight were members of NZAM as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the Virginia Retirement System:

• Acadian Asset Management (Climate Action 100+)
• Advent
• Afton
• Allianz Global Investors (Climate Action 100+)
• Anchorage Capital
• Apax Partners
• Apollo
• AQR
• Ariel
• Arisaig (NZAM)
• Arrowstreet Capital
• Baillie Gifford (Climate Action 100+)
• Bain Capital
• Beach Point Capital Management
• Blackrock (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackstone Real Estate Partners
• Capstone
• Carlyle
• Cevian
• Clarion Partners
• CVC Capital
• Eminence
• Executive Investment Team
• Farallon
• FI AQR High Yield
• FI Man Numeric High Yield
• FI Payden & Rygel EMD
• FI PIMCO EMD
• First Quadrant
• General Atlantic
• Grosvenor
• Hellman and Friedman
• HPS Investment Partners
• Industry Funds Management
• Internal Emerging
• Internal Fixed Income
• Internal Portfolio Strategy
• J.P. Morgan (NZAM)
• J.P. Morgan (NZAM)
• J.P. Morgan (NZAM)
• J.P. Morgan Asset Management Inc. (NZAM)
• Jackson Square
• KKR Associates
• Lansdowne
• LSV Asset Management
• Matoaka
• Maverick Capital
• Mobjack
• Morgan Stanley
• Morgan Stanley
• Nordea (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Pacific Investment Management Co.
• Pantheon Ventures
• PGIM
• Piedmont
• Potomac
• Pritzker Realty Group
• Prudential
• Schroders (Climate Action 100+)
• Schroders (Climate Action 100+)
• Select
• Solus
• Stone Point
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners
• TA Associates
• Taiyo
• Theleme
• ValueAct Capital
• Veritas
• VRS - Internal Equity Management
• VRS Emerging Market Debt
• VRS Fixed-Income Opportunistic
• VRS Government
• VRS Investment Grade Credit
• VRS Securitized
• VRS Systematic High Yield

Governance and accountability

This section features information about the nine-member board of trustees that oversees the Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System. The board is not specific to oversight of the Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System and does exercise oversight duties for other state funds.

Board selection method

The board of trustees that oversees the Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System is made up of 9 appointed members. Their appointments are shared between the executive and legislative branches of state government.

Board of trustees membership

A nine-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of Virginia Law Officers’ Retirement System. The following individuals served on the board as of May 2024:

• A. Scott Andrews, chair
• Michael P. Disharoon, vice chair
• J. Brandon Bell, II
• John M. Bennett
• Lawrence A. Bernert, III
• Susan T. Gooden
• Jessica L. Hood
• Matthew James
• Lindsey K. Pantele

See also

• Public pensions in Virginia
• 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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