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NCPERS 2014 Annual Conference Day 2

 
Missed the Annual Conference? Check out this blog on Day 2!

NCPERS began the second day of the 2014 Annual Conference & Exhibition with an introduction to the Fiduciary Infrastructure Initiative (FII) from Jill Eicher. FII seeks to bring together US public pension funds and other state agencies. With federal support and participation, the project aims to identify and qualify a model set of infrastructure projects for pension funds to invest in on a collective basis.

The second panel of the conference discussed the future of pension plan investments with chief investment officers. The panel, comprised of Ash Williams from the Florida State Board of Administration, Carmen Heredia- Lopez from the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund, and Girard Miller from the Orange County Employees Retirement System, with Hank Kim, NCPERS executive director serving as the moderator. The panelists discussed how public plans are looking at asset allocations, the downside of risk, active vs. passive management styles, discount rates, the cost ofmanagement fees, and plan design.

Lance Weiss with Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company discussed the importance of a written funding policy for pension funds. The goals of benefit adequacy, contribution stability and predictability, and intergenerational equity. Important components of a written funding policy are as follows: actuarial cost method, actuarial asset valuation method, and an amortization method. The final presentation of the day was on SAC Capital Advisors and insider trading by Marshall Bennett and Chet Waldman from Wolf Popper. 

After the general session, members went off to breakout sessions for specific educational opportunities. The lunch & lecture series, on social security, presented by Maryann Motza with Colorado PERA, ended the afternoon.

 

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