Investment Information

The SERS Defined Benefit fund seeks to produce the highest return on investments that is consistent with acceptable investment risks while providing sufficient liquidity that will permit the fund to meet the system’s benefit obligations.

A wealth of information about the fund's holdings, asset allocations, returns, investment managers, fees, and other data is published every spring as we present supplemental budget information to the General Assembly and again by June 30 of each year in our annual comprehensive financial report.

The Right-to-Know Law expressly exempts the release of records that constitute or reveal third-party trade secrets and confidential proprietary information, if the information is privileged or disclosure would cause substantial harm to the competitive position of the person that provided the information to us. Additionally, the State Employees’ Retirement Code exempts records from access under the Right-to-Know Law if access would, in the case of an alternative investment, involve the release of sensitive investment information that we received only after agreeing to maintain its confidentiality (e.g., via contractual obligation) or if access could cause substantial competitive harm to the person from whom the information was received, or have a substantial detrimental impact on the value of an investment that we may acquire, hold, or dispose of. (For more details, see Our Duty to Safeguard Sensitive Investment Information.)

Such information has been redacted from the investment reports posted here.

Defined Benefit Plan Investment Policy Statement

This policy statement outlines the investment philosophy and practices and governs the management of the plan’s assets. This statement formalizes the SERS Board’s investment objectives and policies, and defines the duties and responsibilities of the various individuals and entities involved in the investment process. It also defines the investment portfolio structure and target asset allocations.

Amended 03-05-2024 Amended 05-02-2023 Amended 05-05-2022
Amended 12-08-2021 Amended 07-28-2021 Amended 04-28-2021
Amended 12-02-2020 Adopted 12-04-2019

Prior to 2019, SERS produced two-year, board-approved Strategic Investment Plans:

2018-2019 2016 - 2017  

Stress Testing and Risk Assessment

A comprehensive report prepared by SERS' independent actuary in response to Actuarial Standards of Practice (ASOP) No. 51 and Public Pension Management and Asset Investment Review Commission (PPMAIRC) recommendations. The report identifies and assesses major factors that contribute to the risk that the actual future value of benefits paid by SERS will differ from the estimated value provided by the annual actuarial valuation and the actuarially determined contributions. This report includes an analysis of “What if?” scenarios to determine the effect on future employer contributions and the availability of assets to pay benefits when due to members. These “What if?” scenarios are referred to as stress tests or scenario tests. The “What if?” scenarios are illustrative and do not represent current expectations of future experience or recommendations for changes in current policies. In each scenario, the effect on the actuarially determined contribution (ADC) and funded ratio are projected over a period of 20 years and compared to the baseline expectations. The report covers a wide range of investment-related, demographic-related and contribution-related risks that could affect the long-term health and stability of the SERS fund.

2023 2022 2021 2020 2019

Investment Manager Monitoring Policy

This policy defines consistent criteria for evaluating investment managers.

May 5, 2022 December 7, 2016  

Investment Manager Evaluation Lists

Two lists are published quarterly, one by SERS’ real estate consultant specific to publicly traded real estate securities and one by SERS’ general investment consultant relating to SERS' public market portfolio. The placement of an investment manager on the Evaluation List does not automatically serve as evidence of a problem with the investment manager. The Evaluation List was developed to clearly communicate which investment managers have been identified as experiencing quantitative or qualitative pattern changes worthy of greater review by SERS’ investment office and external investment consultants.

2023 Quarter 4 Real Estate Investment Manager Evaluation List
2023 Quarter 4 Investment Manager Evaluation List

2023 Quarter 3 Real Estate Investment Manager Evaluation List
2023 Quarter 3 Investment Manager Evaluation List

2023 Quarter 2 Real Estate Investment Manager Evaluation List
2023 Quarter 2 Investment Manager Evaluation List

2023 Quarter 1 Real Estate Investment Manager Evaluation List
2023 Quarter 1 Investment Manager Evaluation List

2022 Quarter 4 Real Estate Investment Manager Evaluation List
2022 Quarter 4 Investment Manager Evaluation List

2022 Quarter 3 Real Estate Investment Manager Evaluation List
2022 Quarter 3 Investment Manager Evaluation List

2022 Quarter 2 Real Estate Investment Manager Evaluation List
2022 Quarter 2 Investment Manager Evaluation List

2022 Quarter 1 Real Estate Investment Manager Evaluation List
2022 Quarter 1 Investment Manager Evaluation List

SERS Investment Office Travel Report

Published each December, this report discloses all business-related travel and other expenses incurred by staff and/or paid for by an external investment manager, fund, or consultant during the prior commonwealth fiscal year.

FY 22-23 FY 21-22 FY 20-21  

Investment Manager Expense and Fee Report

This report lists the fees, expenses, performance fees (for public market managers and real estate separately managed accounts) and carried interest (for private equity, private credit and private real estate managers) by investment manager.

2022 2021 2020 2019

Summary
Holdings

Posted quarterly, three months after quarter closes, this one-page summary breaks down the total fund portfolio by asset class and sub-asset class, listing each segment’s market exposure, actual allocation as a percent of the total fund, and target policy allocation and range.

  2023 Quarter 3 2023 Quarter 2 2023 Quarter 1
2022 Quarter 4 2022 Quarter 3 2022 Quarter 2 2022 Quarter 1
2021 Quarter 4 2021 Quarter 3 2021 Quarter 2 2021 Quarter 1
2020 Quarter 4 2020 Quarter 3 2020 Quarter 2 2020 Quarter 1
2019 Quarter 4 2019 Quarter 3 2019 Quarter 2 2019 Quarter 1
2018 Quarter 4 2018 Quarter 3 2018 Quarter 2 2018 Quarter 1
2017 Quarter 4 2017 Quarter 3 2017 Quarter 2 2017 Quarter 1
2016 Quarter 4 2016 Quarter 3 2016 Quarter 2 2016 Quarter 1

Detailed
Holdings

Posted on an annual basis in late June, the following reports list the investment holdings as of Dec. 31 of the prior year. The reports list: the securities held, their base cost, fair value and number of units for public holdings; and the fund and the capital committed, drawn, and distributed for the real estate and private equity holdings.

Legacy Private Credit 2022 Real Estate 2022 Private 2022 Public 2022
Private Credit 2021 Real Estate 2021 Private 2021 Public 2021
Private Credit 2020 Real Estate 2020 Private 2020 Public 2020
  Real Estate 2019 Private 2019 Public 2019
  Real Estate 2018 Private 2018 Public 2018
  Real Estate 2017 Private 2017 Public 2017
  Real Estate 2016 Private 2016 Public 2016

Quarterly Investment Performance Analysis

Prepared by the fund’s general investment consultant each quarter, three months after quarter closes, this report updates the SERS Board on the fund's returns by asset class. Such information is preliminary, unaudited, and subject to change. We do, however, share the information in post-board-meeting news releases and provide the four most recent updates here. (For actual annual performance, please see our comprehensive annual financial report.) 

2023 Quarter 4 | Summary 2023 Quarter 3 | Summary 2023 Quarter 2 | Summary 2023 Quarter 1 | Summary
2022 Quarter 4 | Summary 2022 Quarter 3 | Summary 2022 Quarter 2 | Summary 2022 Quarter 1 | Summary
2021 Quarter 4 | Summary 2021 Quarter 3 | Summary 2021 Quarter 2 | Summary 2021 Quarter 1 | Summary
2020 Quarter 4 | Summary 2020 Quarter 3 | Summary 2020 Quarter 2 | Summary 2020 Quarter 1 | Summary
2019 Quarter 4 | Summary 2019 Quarter 3 | Summary 2019 Quarter 2 | Summary 2019 Quarter 1 | Summary

Private Equity Performance Update

Prepared by the fund’s private equity investment consultant on a quarterly basis beginning with the report for the period ending 12/31/21, (previously provided twice a year in June and Dec.), this report updates the SERS Board on the investment performance of the fund’s private equity portfolio.

  2023 Quarter 3 2023 Quarter 2 2023 Quarter 1
2022 Quarter 4 2022 Quarter 3 2022 Quarter 2 2022 Quarter 1
Period ending 12/31/21 Period ending 06/30/21
Period ending 12/31/20 Period ending 06/30/20
Period ending 12/31/19 Period ending 06/30/19

Real Estate Performance Update

Prepared by the fund’s real estate investment consultant on a quarterly basis beginning with the report for the period ending 12/31/21, (previously provided twice a year in June and Dec.), this report updates the SERS Board on the investment performance of the fund’s real estate portfolio.

  2023 Quarter 3 2023 Quarter 2 2023 Quarter 1
2022 Quarter 4 2022 Quarter 3 2022 Quarter 2 2022 Quarter 1
Period ending 12/31/21 Period ending 06/30/21
Period ending 12/31/20 Period ending 06/30/20
Period ending 12/31/19 Period ending 6/30/19

Semi-Annual Private Credit Performance Update
(through 6/30/2022)

Prepared by the fund’s private equity investment consultant twice a year (June and December), this report updates the SERS Board on the investment performance of the fund’s portfolio. As of 7/1/2022, the assets that were reported in this update have been incorporated into the Private Equity performance update, provide above.

2022 Quarter 2 2022 Quarter 1    
Period ending 12/31/21 Period ending 06/30/21

SERS Annual Report of Public Markets Manager Contract Amendments

Published each April, this report details the amendments made to public market manager contracts during the prior calendar year.

2022 2021 2020