The Colorado PERA Board of Trustees met virtually on Friday, March 15 for its second regularly scheduled meeting of the year.

Below is a summary of key actions and discussions that took place during the meeting.

New Executive Director

At the beginning of the meeting, the Board announced it has selected PERA’s next Executive Director following an eight-month nationwide search.

Andrew Roth will fill that role beginning May 13. He comes to PERA from the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, and previously worked at the California State Teachers’ Retirement System and in various departments within the State of California.

READ MORE: PERA Board Names Andrew Roth as New Executive Director

Board election update

The Board announced in January that four Trustee seats would be up for election in May. At the March meeting, Trustees voted to move forward with elections for three of those seats—one in the School Division and two in the State Division.

The Denver Public School Division seat, currently held by Amy Grant, is uncontested. The Board voted to reappoint Grant to another four-year term beginning in July.

Members in the School and State divisions will receive ballots in May, and the Board will announce election results at its June meeting.

Legislative update

State lawmakers are halfway through the 2024 legislative session, and Public and Government Affairs Manager Michael Steppat joined Interim Executive Director/Chief Investment Officer Amy C. McGarrity to provide an update on PERA-related legislation.

So far this session, legislators have introduced more than 500 bills, seven of which pertain to PERA.

Of those seven proposed bills, one—HB24-1169, which would have repealed a 2016 law that requires PERA to divest all direct holdings from companies that have economic prohibitions against Israel—has died in committee. The other six remain under consideration at the State Capitol.

Steppat said it’s likely there will be some additional PERA-related legislation before the session is over. PERA On The Issues will continue to track all PERA bills and post updates when they’re available.

RELATED: An Update on 2023 WEP/GPO Legislation

Asset/liability study continues

The Board also received an update on its ongoing asset/liability study. That study, which is an in-depth analysis of PERA’s investment portfolio and strategy, will help the Trustees determine if any changes are needed to PERA’s asset allocation, or mix of investments.

The Board’s consultants, Aon, modeled several different asset allocation—some with more risk than the current portfolio and some with less—across thousands of different economic scenarios to project how each option might affect PERA’s investment returns and progress toward its funding goals.

Overall, PERA’s current portfolio is within a reasonable range, Aon said, but there may be some opportunities to further diversify in a way that increases the potential for higher returns without adding unnecessary risk.

Consultants and PERA staff will continue to work on a recommendation and will present more information at the next Board meeting.

The Board’s next regular meeting, which will also include the release of PERA’s 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and Investment Stewardship Report, is scheduled for June 21.