Maine State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program

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Maine State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program
Basic facts
Location:	Augusta, Maine
Top official:	Brian H. Noyes, board chair
Year founded:	1942
Active members:	12,689
Website:	Official website
Total assets under management
2023:	$14,889,086,583

See also: Public pensions in Maine

The Maine State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program (the program) is a Maine state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the state's employees and teachers, and optional for elected and appointed officials. The program had $14,889,086,583 ($14.89 billion) in total assets under management as of June 30, 2023.

The management of public pension funds can indicate support or opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investment practices. ESG investing considers the extent to which corporations align with and promote certain non-financial standards, such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals. States typically hire asset management companies (AMCs) to direct pension plan investments, some of which have ESG commitments that guide their strategies.

This article features the following sections:

• Background: Information about the structure and functions of the program.
• Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by the program.
• Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with the program, including a list of contracting AMCs that are participants in the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and the Climate Action 100+ initiative.
• Governance and accountability: Details about the program's oversight board, including members and selection.

Background

See also: Public pensions

The Maine State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program, founded in 1942, is a sub-fund under Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS). It invests the assets of and provides funding for the state's employees with optional participation for appointed and elected officials. MainePERS operates as a defined benefit plan.

The program served over 12,689 active members and approximately 39,038 retirees and beneficiaries as of June 30, 2023.

Pension performance overview

The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Maine State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program as of June 30, 2023:

Maine State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program pension performance (June 30, 2023)
Fiscal year	Percent funded	Unfunded liabilities	Total assets
2023	85%	$2,631,449,101	$14,889,086,583

Assets and asset management

Asset management companies (AMCs) contract with pension funds to manage asset investment. Some pension funds contract with multiple AMCs, some contract with a single AMC, and others make their own investment decisions without contracting with an AMC.

More than 300 AMCs as of December 2022 were members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), and 362 asset managers as of June 2023 were investor participants in the Climate Action 100+ initiative. Both international asset manager initiatives aim to align signatory investment decisions with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

List of AMCs contracting with the Maine State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program

The Maine State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program (the program) is a sub-fund under the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS). MainePERS administers the program, among other retirement and benefit plans for the governmental workers of Maine. The program does not contract with its own AMCs; the AMCs for MainePERS account for all the pension plans it administers.

MainePERS contracted with 203 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of June 30, 2021. Of those companies, four were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and 19 were members of NZAM, as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with MainePERS:

• ABRY Advanced Securities Fund II (NZAM)
• ABRY Advanced Securities Fund III (NZAM)
• ABRY Heritage (NZAM)
• ABRY Senior Equity IV (NZAM)
• ABRY Senior Equity V (NZAM)
• ABRY VII (NZAM)
• ABRY VIII
• ACM Fund II
• ACM Permanent Crops
• Advent International GPE IX
• Advent International GPE VII
• Advent International GPE VIII
• Advent LAPEF VI
• Affinity Asia Pacific IV
• Affinity Asia Pacific V
• AG Direct Lending II
• AG Direct Lending III
• AG Direct Lending IV
• Alinda Infrastructure Fund II
• AMERRA Agri Fund III
• Angelo Gordon Net Lease IV
• AQR Liquid Enhanced Alternative Premia
• ArcLight Energy Partners V
• ArcLight Energy Partners VI
• ARES Capital Europe IV
• ARES Capital Europe V
• Aspect Core Diversified
• Audax
• Bain Capital Venture 2021
• Bain Capital Venture III
• Barings Real Estate Asia II (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Berkshire IX
• Berkshire VIII
• Black Bear Asset Management (NZAM)
• BlackRock (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackstone Cap VI
• Blackstone Cap VII
• Blackstone Property Partners
• Blackstone RE Partners IX
• Blackstone RE Partners VII
• Blackstone RE Partners VIII
• Bridgewater Pure Alpha
• Brookfield Infrastructure Fund II
• Brookfield Infrastructure Fund III
• Cambridge Associates
• Carlyle Asia Partners Fund III
• Carlyle Asia Partners Fund IV
• Carlyle Asia Partners Fund V
• Carlyle Global Infrastructure Opportunity Fund
• Carlyle Infrastructure Fund
• Carlyle Power Partners II
• Centerbridge Capital Partners III
• Charterhouse IX
• Charterhouse VIII
• Charterhouse X
• Co-Investments
• Cube Infrastructure Fund
• CVC Capital Partner VI
• CVC Capital Partner VII
• Denham Mining Fund
• EnCap Energy Capital Fund IX
• EnCap Energy Capital Fund VIII
• EnCap Energy Capital Fund X
• EnCap Energy Capital Fund XI
• EnCap Flatrock Midstream III
• EnCap Flatrock Midstream IV
• EQT Infrastructure Fund III
• EQT Infrastructure Fund IV
• EQT Real Estate II
• FORT Global Contrarian Fund
• General Catalyst Group X - Early Venture
• General Catalyst Group X - Endurance
• General Catalyst Group X - Growth Venture
• GIP Spectrum Fund
• Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund I (NZAM)
• Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund II (NZAM)
• Global Infrastructure Partners Fund (NZAM)
• Global Infrastructure Partners Fund II (NZAM)
• Global Infrastructure Partners Fund III (NZAM)
• Global Infrastructure Partners Fund IV (NZAM)
• GTCR X
• GTCR XI
• GTCR XII
• Harrison Street Core Property Fund
• HBK Multi-Strategy
• Hellman & Friedman IX
• Hellman & Friedman VII
• Hellman & Friedman VIII
• HIG Bayside Loan Opportunity II
• HIG Bayside Loan Opportunity III (Europe)
• HIG Brazil & Latin America
• HIG Buyouts II
• HIG Buyouts III
• HIG Capital Partners V
• HIG Europe Capital II
• HIG Middle Market LBO Fund II
• HIG Middle Market LBO Fund III
• High Street IV
• High Street V
• High Street VI
• Homestead Farmland II
• Homestead Farmland III
• Inflexion Buyout Fund IV
• Inflexion Partnership Capital Fund I
• Inflexion Supplemental Fund IV
• Invesco Real Estate Asia IV (NZAM)
• Invesco US Income (NZAM)
• IPI Data Center Partners I
• IPI Data Center Partners II
• Kelso Investment Associates IX
• Kelso Investment Associates VIII
• Kelso Investment Associates X
• KKR Americas XII
• KKR Infrastructure
• KKR Infrastructure II
• KKR Infrastructure III
• KKR North America XI
• KKR REPA I
• KKR REPA II
• KKR REPE
• KKR REPE II
• KKR Special Situations
• KKR Special Situations II
• Meridiam Infrastructure Europe I (Secondary)
• Meridiam Infrastructure Europe I Class B (Secondary)
• Meridiam Infrastructure Europe II (Secondary)
• Meridiam Infrastructure Europe II Class B (Secondary)
• Meridiam Infrastructure Europe III
• Meridiam Infrastructure North America II
• Meridiam Infrastructure North America II (CIP)
• Meridiam Infrastructure North America II (Secondary)
• Meridiam Infrastructure North America III
• Mesa West Core
• Northbridge Strategic Fund II
• Oaktree Opportunity Fund VIII
• ONCAP IV
• Onex Partners III
• Onex Partners IV
• Onex Partners V
• Orion Mine Finance II
• Owl Rock
• Owl Rock III
• Paine Schwartz Partners IV
• Paine Schwartz Partners V
• Pathlight Capital II
• Prima Advisors Mortgage Fund
• Prudential Senior Housing V
• Rhone Partners V
• Riverside Capital Appreciation VI
• Riverside Micro Cap Fund III
• Riverside Micro Cap Fund IV
• Riverside Micro Cap Fund IV-B
• Riverside Micro Cap Fund V
• Rubenstein Partners III
• SCP Private Corporate Lending Fund
• SCP SF Debt Fund
• Shoreview Capital III
• Shoreview Capital IV
• Silver Creek Aggregate Reserves Fund I
• Silver Point Specialty Credit II
• Smart Markets
• Sovereign Capital IV
• Stonepeak Infrastructure II
• Stonepeak Infrastructure III
• Summit Credit Partners II
• Summit Europe III
• Summit GE IX
• Summit GE VIII
• Summit GE X
• Summit VC III
• Summit VC IV
• Summit VC V
• Taurus Mining Finance
• Taurus Mining Finance Annex
• Taurus Mining Finance II
• TCP Direct Lending VIII
• TCV IX
• TCV VIII
• TCV X
• TCV XI
• Teays River
• Technology Impact Fund
• Technology Impact Fund II
• Technology Impact Growth Fund
• Thoma Bravo Special Opportunities Fund II
• Thoma Bravo XI
• Thoma Bravo XII
• Thoma Bravo XIII
• Tillridge Global Agribusiness II
• Twin Creeks Timber
• US Farming Realty III
• Walton Street VII
• Walton Street VIII
• Water Street Healthcare III (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Water Street Healthcare IV (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Wayzata Opportunities III
• Westbrook IX
• Westbrook X
• Westbrook XI
• Windham Capital
• Windham Risk Premia
• Wynnchurch Capital IV
• Wynnchurch Capital V

Governance and accountability

This section features information about the eight-member board of trustees that oversees the Maine State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program (the program). The board is not specific to oversight of the program and exercises oversight duties for other state funds.

Board selection method

The board of trustees that oversees the State Employee and Teacher Retirement Program is made up of eight members. Two trustees are system members, one is a member of the Participating Local Districts plan, four are appointed by the governor, and one is the state treasurer, who serves on the board ex-officio.

Board of trustees membership

An eight-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of the program. The following individuals served on the board as of August 2024:

• Brian H. Noyes, board chair
• Richard T. Metivier, vice chair
• Henry Beck
• John S. Beliveau
• Shirrin L. Blaisdell
• Nathan Burnett
• Kirk Duplessis
• John H. Kimball

See also

• Public pensions in Maine
• Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
• Areas of inquiry and disagreement related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
• Opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing
• Reform proposals related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
• State legislative approaches opposing ESG investing
• State legislative approaches supporting ESG investing

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