TRS Approves Performance Incentive Awards for Staff

December 10, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) Trust Fund earned 12.6% for the plan year ending September 30.

 

As a result of the performance, the TRS Board approved payment of the first half of the performance incentive awards for the 2010 plan year, as well as the deferred awards from the 2008 and 2009 plan years, totaling $9.7 million for 108 employees. The performance incentive program was first established in 2006, according to TRS, which notes that during the three-year period (2008-10), TRS employees added $2.3 billion in excess of the incentive award benchmark established for the plans.

A press release says that places TRS first among all of its public pension fund peers with asset values of $10 billion or more. The achievement was announced at the TRS Board of Trustees meeting where trustees congratulated the Investment Management Division for its outstanding performance. As of September 30, 2010, the total value of the fund had reached $100.3 billion, up by more than $8.9 billion from the same date a year earlier, according to TRS.

 “All of us on the board could not be more pleased with this outstanding performance,” said Board Chairman David Kelly. “This confirms the wisdom of the more diversified investment approach adopted by the board in2007,and illustrates the importance of having a highly qualified team of investors. During the past few years, TRS and our staff have been challenged as never before, and our world-class team has responded in a skillful and methodical manner. As a result, our fund remains liquid, not levered, and with the distinct advantage of a long-term investment horizon.”

TRS notes that, since the inception of the fund, 60% of all contributions have come from investment earnings, 20% from member contributions and 20% from state contributions.

TRS is the seventh largest public pension plan in the U.S. and among the 20 largest funds in the world. Nearly 1.3 million public education and higher education employees and retirees participate in the system.

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