OAK BROOK, Ill. – On Friday, the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) Board of Trustees approved commitments of up to $200 million to the Real Assets and Alternatives asset classes. In addition, the Board reviewed and approved its Investment Committee Charter and Statement of Investment Policy for 2025, incorporating several changes. One notable change was an increase in the Board's target for assets managed by Minority- and/or Women-owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) firms, raising the target from 22% to 23%. The Board also accepted the Annual Investment Reports.
The Board approved the following commitments, subject to satisfactory legal due diligence:
Real Assets
As a result of the Residential Real Estate RFP, the following commitments were made:
- Up to $50,000,001 to Virtus Real Estate Capital IV, L.P.
- Up to $50 million to Kayne Attainable Housing Fund, L.P.
Alternative Investments
- Up to $50 million Pemberton Strategic Credit Fund IV, SCSp. IMRF is an existing investor in Pemberton Strategic Credit Fund IV, SCSp, with $50 million in aggregate commitments.
- Up to $50 million to Hg Saturn 4, L.P. IMRF is an existing investor in Hg Saturn 4, L.P. with $18.2 million in aggregate commitments.
Annual Investment Reports
2024 Report on Minority and Emerging Manager Program
Highlights of the 2024 Minority and Emerging Investment Manager Utilization Report include:
- Minority-owned investment management firms invest $14.48 billion on behalf of IMRF.
- Minority-owned investment management firms invest 26.4% of the total Fund’s market value and 32.9% of IMRF’s actively managed assets (excluding index investments).
- IMRF has direct relationships with Minority-owned investment managers across all five asset classes.
- Additionally, IMRF utilizes Manager of Managers/Fund of Funds to invest in Minority-owned investment managers in International Equity, Fixed Income, Real Assets, and Alternatives asset classes.
2024 Report on Minority Broker-Dealer Program
Highlights of the 2024 Minority Broker/Dealer Utilization Report include:
- IMRF exceeded its Minority brokerage goals by each asset class.
- IMRF’s investment managers traded with 25 Minority-owned broker/dealers.
- IMRF’s Equity portfolio generated $58.8 million in Equity commissions. Of that amount, minority-owned broker/dealers earned $16.9 million or 28.69% of total Equity commissions.
- IMRF’s Fixed Income portfolio traded $54.2 billion par value. Of that amount, minority-owned broker/dealers executed trades totaling $1.89 billion or 3.47% of total par value.
2024 Report on Security Lending Program
2024 Security Lending Activity Report highlights include:
- During 2024, IMRF generated approximately $8.2 million in security lending income across separately managed accounts and commingled fund investments.
- Both IMRF and Northern Trust actively monitor the security lending program via established protocols and procedures.
2024 Report on Proxy Voting
- IMRF recognizes its fiduciary responsibility and commits to managing its proxy voting rights with the same care, skill, prudence, and diligence as is exercised in managing its other assets.
- In 2024, IMRF voted over 6,205 domestic and international equity ballots representing 55,168 proposals.
As of January 31, 2025, the total IMRF portfolio was valued at $56.1 billion.
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