Mississippi PERS reports strong fund performance, low fees in quarterly review

The Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) reviewed quarterly results and a fee benchmarking report at its investment committee meeting. Staff and consultants reported total plan assets near $37.6 billion at the December reporting date and an unaudited estimated total‑fund return of about 12.06% fiscal‑year‑to‑date. The one‑year total‑fund return was reported at about 16.4%.

Consultants said PERS’s all‑in investment expense ratio is roughly 31–32 basis points, or about 31¢–32¢ per $100, placing the system lower cost than roughly 70%–75% of comparable plans in the database the consultant used. Staff emphasized that the comparison set was constrained to similarly sized plans and those with private‑markets allocations to provide an “apples‑to‑apples” view.

Board members pressed staff on sources of manager cost and whether local Mississippi managers are being considered; staff said searches are open to local firms that meet minimum scale requirements and that a new website link will publicize future manager search opportunities. Staff also said ongoing negotiations with several managers (named by staff during the briefing) are expected to yield fee reductions or tiered pricing benefits for PERS.

The committee did not take regulatory action on fees at the meeting; staff said the benchmarking review would be used to prioritize follow‑up negotiations with managers and to inform the legislature and stakeholders.

The committee recessed for the next agenda items; investment staff and the consultant will provide follow‑up materials and fee details in their next report.