South Carolina Retirement Systems

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South Carolina Retirement Systems
Basic facts
Location:	Columbia, South Carolina
Top official:	Peggy G. Boykin, executive director
Year founded:	1945
Active members:	205,985
Website:	Official website
Total assets under management
2022:	$34,286,962

See also: Public pensions in South Carolina

The South Carolina Retirement Systems is a South Carolina state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the employees of state agencies, public and charter school districts, public higher education institutions, and participating local subdivisions of government, as well as individuals first elected to the South Carolina General Assembly during or after the general election in November 2012. SCRS had $34,286,962 ($34 million) in total assets under management as of July 1, 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 SCRS.
• Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by SCRS.
• Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with SCRS, 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 SCRS's oversight board, including members and selection.

Background

See also: Public pensions

The South Carolina Retirement Systems, founded in 1945, invests the assets of and provides funding for the employees of state agencies, public and charter school districts, public higher education institutions, and participating local subdivisions of government, as well as individuals first elected to the South Carolina General Assembly during or after the general election in November 2012.

SCRS served over 205,985 active members and approximately 153,558 retirees and beneficiaries as of March 2024.

Pension performance overview

The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the South Carolina Retirement Systems as of July 1, 2023:

South Carolina Retirement Systems pension performance (July 1, 2023)
Fiscal year	Percent funded	Unfunded liabilities	Total market value of assets
2023	57.9%	$24,910,179	$34,286,962

Assets and asset management

Asset management companies (AMCs) are hired to manage asset investment for state pension funds across all 50 states.

As of October 2024, 330 AMCs were members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), and 391 AMCs were investor participants in the Climate Action 100+ initiative. Both international asset manager initiatives aimed to align the investment decisions of signatories with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

NZAM announced on January 13, 2025, that it was suspending operations and removing the commitment statement and list of signatories from its website. The group said in a statement it would reevaluate its plans and operations in light of “[r]ecent developments in the U.S. and different regulatory and client expectations in investors’ respective jurisdictions.”

List of AMCs contracting with the South Carolina Retirement Systems

The South Carolina Retirement Systems contracted with 191 asset management companies (AMCs) or specific funds as of June 30, 2021. Of those companies, 35 were investor participants in Climate Action 100+, and 37 were members of NZAM, as of 2024. The following list identifies the AMCs (and in some cases, the specific funds) contracting with the South Carolina Retirement Systems:

• Aberdeen Private Equity VIII
• Actis Infrastructure (NZAM)
• Algert
• Angelo Gordon VI
• Apollo
• Apollo Partnership Private Debt
• Apollo Partnership Private Equity
• Apollo Partnership Real Estate
• AQR (Equity Options)
• AQR Global Enhanced
• Aquiline Financial Services I
• Aquiline Financial Services II
• Ares Jasper Fund
• Ares Pathfinder Fund
• Asana Partners II
• Ashmore External Debt (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• ASI Hark Capital III
• Avenue Spec VI
• Axium Infrastructure (NZAM)
• Azalea III
• Barings Capital Invest Corp BDC (Climate Action 100+)
• Barings MultiSector (Climate Action 100+)
• BCP V Co‐Invest I
• BCP V Co‐Invest III
• Blackrock Core (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock Emerging Markets Small Cap Equity (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock Global Equity (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock MSCI ACWI (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock MSCI Emerging Markets Free (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock Short Duration (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock SLS (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• BlackRock SLS Co Invest I (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock U. S. Equity (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock U. S. Small Cap (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock World ex U. S. Large Cap (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackrock World ex U. S. Small Cap (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Blackstone Property Partners
• Blackstone Real Estate Partners IX
• Blackstone Real Estate Partners VII
• Blackstone SAF II
• Bridgepoint Development Capital IV
• Bridgepoint Europe IV
• Bridgepoint Europe V
• Bridgepoint Europe VI
• Bridgewater Associates, Inc.
• Brighton Park Capital I
• Brookfield Capital IV (NZAM)
• Brookfield Capital V (NZAM)
• Brookfield Infrastructure IV (NZAM)
• Brookfield Real Estate Finance IV (NZAM)
• Brookfield Real Estate Finance V (NZAM)
• Brookfield SREP II LP (NZAM)
• Brookfield SREP III LP (NZAM)
• Brookfield SREP LP (NZAM)
• Brookfield Super Core (NZAM)
• Carlyle VI
• Carousel Capital IV
• Caspian SC Holdings LP
• CD&R VIII
• CenterSquare Co Invest I (Climate Action 100+)
• Centersquare Co‐Invest II (Climate Action 100+)
• CenterSquare US Real Estate (Climate Action 100+)
• CenterSquare US REIT Focus (Climate Action 100+)
• Colony Capital Co‐Invest I
• Credit Opportunities Partners JV
• Crescent Mezzanine V (Climate Action 100+)
• Crescent Mezzanine VI (Climate Action 100+)
• Crestview II
• Crestview III
• Crow Holdings IX
• Crow Holdings VII
• CVC Capital VIII
• CVE‐Kauffman Fellows Endowment Fund I
• D. E. Shaw World Enhanced
• DE Shaw Composite Fund
• Digital Colony Co‐Invest I
• Digital Colony Partners Fund I
• DWS RREEF (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Eagle Point Credit Partners
• Entrust
• Entrust Partnership Emerging Market Debt
• Fortress Credit Opportunities Fund V (A)
• Fortress Lending Fund II LP
• Francisco Agility II Co Invest I
• Francisco Partners Agility II LP
• Francisco Partners V
• Francisco Partners VI LP
• Gateway Energy
• GCMEdisto ‐ GCMDirect
• GCMEdisto ‐ RSIC Direct
• GMO Emerging Country Debt (NZAM)
• Goldentree Loan Management II
• Goldentree Structured Credit
• GoldenTree Structured Products Fund VII
• Goldman Sachs (Climate Action 100+)
• Goldman Sachs Mezzanine V (Climate Action 100+)
• Goldman Sachs Partnership Private Debt (Climate Action 100+)
• Goldman Sachs Partnership Real Estate (Climate Action 100+)
• Grain Spectrum Holdings III
• Great Hill Equity Partners VII
• Greystar IX
• Greystar X
• Grosvenor
• Grosvenor Partnership Hedge Funds
• GSO
• GSO Partnership Hedge Funds
• GSO Partnership Private Debt
• Guggenheim
• Heitman Capital Management
• Hellman & Friedman
• Highbridge Principal Strategies
• Hillhouse Focused Growth Fund V LP
• Horsley Bridge Strategic Fund V
• Industry Ventures Partership Holdings V
• Industry Ventures Partership Holdings VI
• Industry Ventures VI
• Industry Ventures VII
• Intech
• Internally Managed Assets
• Jocassee Partners
• KKR Asian IV
• KKR Lending Partners II
• KKR Lending Partners III
• KKR Special Situation Fund II
• Lighthouse
• Lighthouse Partnership Hedge Funds
• Lone Star II
• Macquarie Infrastructure (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Man Numeric International Small Cap (Climate Action 100+)
• Man Solutions Ltd (Climate Action 100+)
• Mill Point Capital Partners II
• Morgan Stanley
• Morgan Stanley Partnership Hedge Funds
• Morgan Stanley Partnership Private Debt
• Morgan Stanley Partnership Private Equity
• Morgan Stanley Partnership Real Estate
• Morgan Stanley Prime Property
• Nordic Capital Fund X
• Northstar Mezz V
• Oaktree Real Estate Opportunities V
• Oaktree Real Estate Opportunities VI
• Owl Rock Capital Corp
• Owl Rock First Lien
• Owl Rock Technology Finance Corp
• Owl Rock Technology Holdings
• Owl Rock Transition
• Pacific Equity Partners V
• Pacific Investment Management Company
• Paul Capital Partners IX
• Penn Limited Term HY
• Pinebridge (NZAM)
• Providence Equity Fund VIII
• Providence Strategic Growth Fund III
• Providence Strategic Growth Fund IV
• Providence Strategic Growth Fund V
• Reservoir Capital Partners
• Reservoir Strategic Partners Fund
• Resolve Growth Partners Fund I
• Russell Global Transition (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Russell International Small Cap (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Russell International Small Cap Passive Transition (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Russell Investment Group (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Russell Investment Group (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Russell Other Opportunistic (NZAM, Climate Action 100+)
• Sankaty COP IV
• Sankaty COP V
• Sculptor
• Selene II
• Silver Lake Partners VI
• SJC DL II
• Square One Venture One
• State Street EME (NZAM)
• State Street Global Equity (NZAM)
• State Street MSCI ACWI (NZAM)
• Stockbridge Value Fund IV LP
• TA Associates XIII
• TA Realty ‐ SC LP
• TA Realty X
• Thompson Rivers
• Torchlight IV
• Torchlight V
• Truebridge Capital II
• Valor Equity Partners V
• Various Private Equity Managers
• Warburg Pincus X
• WestCap Co Invest I
• Westcap Strategic Operator Fund
• WL Ross
• WL Ross Partnership Private Equity
• WL Ross Partnership Real Estate
• WL Ross Whole Loans

Governance and accountability

This section features information about the 11-member board of trustees that oversees the South Carolina Retirement Systems, called the Public Employee Benefit Authority Board of Directors. The board is not specific to oversight of the South Carolina Retirement Systems and exercises oversight duties for other state funds.

Board selection method

The board of trustees that oversees the South Carolina Retirement Systems, called the Public Employee Benefit Authority Board of Directors, is made up of 11 members. Three are appointed by the governor; two are appointed by the president of the senate, one of whom must be an active or retired member of the Police Officer Retirement System; two are appointed by the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, one of whom must be a retiree of SCRS; two are appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, one of whom must be an active member of SCRS; and two members are appointed by the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, one of whom must be an active member of SCRS employed in a public school district.

Board of trustees membership

A 11-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of South Carolina Retirement Systems. The following individuals served on the board as of April 2024:

• Joe Pearce, chairman
• Calvin Elam
• Amanda Blankenship
• Jennifer Blumenthal
• Stephen Heisler
• Paige Parsons Lewis
• Steve Matthews
• Sheriff Steve Mueller
• Alex Shissias
• John Sowards
• Ed Walton

See also

• Public pensions in South Carolina
• Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
• Arguments about 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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