CalSTRS

Teachers' Retirement Board
Agency overview
Formed 1913
Headquarters 100 Waterfront Place, West Sacramento, California
38°35′04″N 121°30′34″W / 38.584426°N 121.50948°W / 38.584426; -121.50948Coordinates: 38°35′04″N 121°30′34″W / 38.584426°N 121.50948°W / 38.584426; -121.50948
Agency executives
  • Jack Ehnes, CEO
  • Harry M. Keiley, Chairperson
Parent agency California Government Operations Agency
Website calstrs.com

The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits for California's 868,493 prekindergarten through community college educators and their families.[1] CalSTRS was established by law in 1913 and is part of the State of California's Government Operations Agency. As of November 2013, CalSTRS is the largest teachers' retirement fund in the United States. CalSTRS is also currently the thirteenth largest public pension fund in the world.[2] As of November 30, 2015, CalSTRS managed a portfolio worth $188.4 billion.[3]

Membership

CalSTRS members, as of June 30, 2014, include employees of approximately 1,700 employers:

Teachers' Retirement Fund

The Teachers' Retirement Fund is a special trust fund established by law that holds the assets of the following programs:

The assets come from contributions by members, employing school districts, investment earnings and appropriations from the State of California's General Fund.[1] The fund's investments create a stream of income to add to those assets.

The CalSTRS investment portfolio includes stocks, bonds, real estate and short-term investments.

Finances

As of November 30, 2015, CalSTRS managed a portfolio worth $188.4 billion at market value.[3] As of June 30, 2012, CalSTRS' assets were $143.1 billion at market value ($152.5 billion actuarial value), giving CalSTRS an unfunded liability of $80.4 billion at market value ($71 billion actuarial value).[4][5]

Governance

The Teachers' Retirement Board is responsible for maintaining the Teachers' Retirement Fund in order to pay benefits to CalSTRS members and their survivors.

Teachers' Retirement Board

The Teachers' Retirement Board sets policies, makes rules for and administers CalSTRS. The Board is also responsible for ensuring benefits are paid by the system in accordance with law.

The 12-member Teachers' Retirement Board is made up of:[6]

Executive staff

In February 2002, the Board appointed Jack Ehnes as Chief Executive Officer of CalSTRS to administer the system consistent with the Board's policies and rules. The Board also selected a Chief Investment Officer, (CIO) Christopher J. Ailman, to direct the investments of the Teachers' Retirement Fund in accordance with board policy.

Advisory committees

Two advisory committees meet regularly to provide forums for active participation in the formation of CalSTRS policies and procedures. The Employer Advisory Committee is composed of county and district employer representatives and CalSTRS staff and meets quarterly, and the Client Advisory Committee includes CalSTRS staff and members from various organizations representing CalSTRS members and benefit recipients and meets regularly coinciding with Board meeting dates.

Operations

The Board has supported a variety of corporate governance initiatives and actions aimed at keeping the fund stable. A few of the actions taken include:[7]

On May 28, 2009, CalSTRS announced that individual proxy votes will be publicly available online through a partnership with ProxyDemocracy.org, a nonprofit organization that offers free online investment information about portfolio companies.[10][11]

Like other large pension plans, CalSTRS had previously announced its proxy-vote intentions on selective companies. The addition of online disclosure opens the process to all CalSTRS portfolio companies, allowing other shareholders to know how the pension fund will vote.

As of May 2009, CalSTRS holds stock in over 3,800 North American companies.[10]

On December 17, 2012, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the Los Angeles Times reported that California's treasurer, Bill Lockyer, may order CalSTRS to eliminate investments in gun manufacturers.[12]

On January 9, 2013, the Teachers' Retirement Board Investment Committee directed staff to "begin the process of divestment from firearm companies that manufacture weapons that are illegal in California."[13]

Headquarters

CalSTRS headquarters in West Sacramento, California

Opened in June 2009, the CalSTRS headquarters building in West Sacramento is expected to meet members' needs through 2049. Growth in membership, the difference and complexity of the needs of a new generation of retiring teachers, and the need to operate more efficiently and sustainably led to the decision to build a new headquarters. The building, a $266 million, 13-story office tower above two levels of public space,[14] is part of the Sacramento Riverfront Master Plan.

The headquarters was designed to meet the Gold certification LEED designation set by the U.S. Green Building Council.[15] Its construction was done by numerous Local Unions and with the aid of Architectural Glass and Aluminum which served as the Glazing Contractor on the project. [16]It is expected that construction of the CalSTRS headquarters will add momentum to former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's push for "green" buildings and speed up a similar movement in private construction.[17] A few of the features[17] designed into the building to qualify for LEED Gold certification are:

In October 2011, the building received USGBC's Platinum certification in Existing Building and Operations Maintenance.[18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "CalSTRS at a Glance". CalSTRS. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ http://www.pionline.com/article/20130902/INTERACTIVE/130829875/pampitowers-watson-world-300-the-largest-retirement-funds
  3. 1 2 CalSTRS. "Current Investment Portfolio". Retrieved 2015-12-20.
  4. ↑ Ehnes, Jack (February 4, 2014). "Why does Governor Brown say CalSTRS' unfunded liability is $80.4 billion and CalSTRS say it is $71 billion – which is correct?". CalSTRS.
  5. ↑ Calefati, Jessica (2014-01-26). "California's 'wall of debt' is only a slice of its liability problem". Mercury News.
  6. ↑ California Education Code § 22200
  7. ↑ "Corporate Governance Overview". CalSTRS. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  8. ↑ Ehnes, Jack (June 4, 2003). "RE: File No. S7-10-03" (PDF) (Letter to Jonathan Katz, Secretary of SEC). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 21, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  9. ↑ "CalSTRS Pushes for Executive Pay Policies". Compliance Week. May 6, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
  10. 1 2 "CalSTRS Improves Proxy Vote Transparency" (Press release). CalSTRS. May 28, 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  11. ↑ Burr, Barry B. (May 28, 2009). "CalSTRS to disclose proxy votes in advance". Pensions & Investments. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
  12. ↑ Hsu, Tiffany (December 17, 2012). "Gun company's shares are in line of fire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  13. ↑ "CalSTRS Statement on its Decision to Divest of Certain Firearms Holdings" (Press release). CalSTRS. January 9, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  14. ↑ "CalSTRS Headquarters Facts" (PDF). CalSTRS. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 21, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  15. ↑ "New Headquarters Project". CalSTRS. Archived from the original on July 17, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
  16. ↑ DC16 The Pride, "CalSTRS Goes for Gold By Building Green ", DC16 The Pride, page 10, Feb 2009
  17. 1 2 Ortiz, Jon (July 13, 2008). "CalSTRS' new building goes for 'green' gold". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved June 12, 2009.
  18. ↑ "CalSTRS Headquarters Achieves Platinum Certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" (Press release). CalSTRS. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
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