Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 17-106.1
Board of Trustees of Teachers' Retirement System - Discharge of Duties - Investments - Reports
Effective Jul 1, 2004Laws 1988, HB 1582, c. 321, § 27, emerg. eff. July 1, 1988; Amended by Laws 1992, SB 505, c. 354, § 4; Amended by Laws 1995, HB 1936, c. 81, § 6, emerg. eff. July 1, 1995; Amended by Laws 2002, HB 1719, c. 391, § 7, emerg. eff. July 1, 2002 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2004, SB 1134, c. 536, § 18, emerg. eff. July 1, 2004 (superseded document available).
A. The Board of Trustees of the Teachers' Retirement System of Oklahoma shall discharge their duties with respect to the System solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries and:
1. For the exclusive purpose of:
- a. providing benefits to participants and their beneficiaries, and
- b. defraying reasonable expenses of administering the System;
- 2. With the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims;
- 3. By diversifying the investments of the System so as to minimize the risk of large losses, unless under the circumstances it is clearly prudent not to do so; and
- 4. In accordance with the laws, documents and instruments governing the System.
- B. The Board of Trustees may procure insurance indemnifying the members of the Board of Trustees from personal loss or accountability from liability resulting from a member's action or inaction as a member of the Board.
- C. The Board of Trustees may establish an investment committee. The investment committee shall be composed of not more than five (5) members of the Board of Trustees appointed by the chairman of the Board of Trustees. The committee shall make recommendations to the full Board of Trustees on all matters related to the choice of custodians and managers of the assets of the System, on the establishment of investment and fund management guidelines, and in planning future investment policy. The committee shall have no authority to act on behalf of the Board of Trustees in any circumstances whatsoever. No recommendation of the committee shall have effect as an action of the Board of Trustees nor take effect without the approval of the Board of Trustees as provided by law.
- D. The Board of Trustees may retain qualified investment managers to provide for the investment of the monies of the System. The investment managers shall be chosen by a solicitation of proposals on a competitive bid basis pursuant to standards set by the Board of Trustees. Subject to the overall investment guidelines set by the Board of Trustees, the investment managers shall have full discretion in the management of those monies of the System allocated to the investment managers. The Board of Trustees shall manage those monies not specifically allocated to the investment managers. The monies of the System allocated to the investment managers shall be actively managed by the investment managers, which may include selling investments and realizing losses if such action is considered advantageous to longer term return maximization. Because of the total return objective, no distinction shall be made for management and performance evaluation purposes between realized and unrealized capital gains and losses.
- E. Funds and revenues for investment by the investment managers or the Board of Trustees shall be placed with a custodian selected by the Board of Trustees. The custodian shall be a bank or trust company offering pension fund master trustee and master custodial services. The custodian shall be chosen by a solicitation of proposals on a competitive bid basis pursuant to standards set by the Board of Trustees. In compliance with the investment policy guidelines of the Board of Trustees, the custodian bank or trust company shall be contractually responsible for ensuring that all monies of the System are invested in income-producing investment vehicles at all times. If a custodian bank or trust company has not received direction from the investment managers of the System as to the investment of the monies of the System in specific investment vehicles, the custodian bank or trust company shall be contractually responsible to the Board of Trustees for investing the monies in appropriately collateralized short-term interest-bearing investment vehicles.
- F. By November 1, 1988, and prior to August 1 of each year thereafter, the Board of Trustees shall develop a written investment plan for the System.
- G. The Board of Trustees shall compile a quarterly financial report of all the funds of the System on a fiscal year basis. The report shall be compiled pursuant to uniform reporting standards prescribed by the Oklahoma State Pension Commission for all state retirement systems. The report shall include several relevant measures of investment value, including acquisition cost and current fair market value with appropriate summaries of total holdings and returns. The report shall contain combined and individual rate of returns of the investment managers by category of investment, over periods of time. The Board of Trustees shall include in the quarterly reports all commissions, fees or payments for investment services performed on behalf of the Board. The report shall be distributed to the Governor, the Oklahoma State Pension Commission, the Legislative Service Bureau, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
H. After July 1 and before October 1 of each year, the Board of Trustees publish widely an annual report presented in simple and easily understood language pursuant to uniform reporting standards prescribed by the Oklahoma State Pension Commission for all state retirement systems. The report shall be submitted to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Oklahoma State Pension Commission and the members of the System. The annual report shall cover the operation of the System during the past fiscal year, including income, disbursements, and the financial condition of the System at the end of the fiscal year. The annual report shall also contain the information issued in the quarterly reports required pursuant to subsection G of this section as well as a summary of the results of the most recent actuarial valuation to include total assets, total liabilities, unfunded liability or over funded status, contributions and any other information deemed relevant by the Board of Trustees. The annual report shall be written in such a manner as to permit a readily understandable means for analyzing the financial condition and performance of the System for the fiscal year. In order to standardize the information and analysis of the financial condition of the System, the Board shall provide information regarding the financial and actuarial condition of the System using assumptions or requirements as hereinafter required for the report stating the condition of the System as of July 1, 2002, and for each subsequent reporting date, which information shall be contained in an appendix or addendum to the annual report. For purposes other than the reporting requirements contained in the appendix or addendum, all actuarial and economic assumptions shall be those assumptions adopted by the System in its annual actuarial valuation. The appendix or addendum shall contain a statement of the financial condition of the System:
- 1. Using an assumed rate of return of seven and one-half percent (7.5%), net of investment expenses, per annum, compounded annually;
- 2. Using an actuarial assumption regarding cost-of-living adjustments for the System of two percent (2%) annually;
- 3. That relies upon the use of appropriate preretirement, postretirement and disability retirement information using generational projections taken from the RP-2000 Mortality Tables, published by the Society of Actuaries;
- 4. Which accurately and completely summarizes all sources of system assets, other than employee contributions, which shall include, but not be limited to, the total of all employer contributions, any dedicated tax or fee revenue of whatever kind or however denominated, and the total amount of any other source of revenue which accrues to the System, other than return on investments, such as federal monies used for the purpose of making employer contributions; and
- 5. Using an assumption that the unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities of the System are amortized over a period of thirty (30) years, in a manner consistent with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement Number 25.
- I. The Board of Trustees shall adopt a cost of living adjustment actuarial assumption in its annual actuarial valuation report.
Laws 1988, HB 1582, c. 321, § 27, emerg. eff. July 1, 1988; Amended by Laws 1992, SB 505, c. 354, § 4; Amended by Laws 1995, HB 1936, c. 81, § 6, emerg. eff. July 1, 1995; Amended by Laws 2002, HB 1719, c. 391, § 7, emerg. eff. July 1, 2002 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2004, SB 1134, c. 536, § 18, emerg. eff. July 1, 2004 (superseded document available).