TRS Illinois increases emerging manager program to $1b

The $53.5 billion Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) of the state of Illinois has increased its emerging manager program from $750 million to $1 billion.

TRS said the move is part of a reimagining of the 15-year-old program and the follows system’s efforts to increase diversity.

The EMP is currently composed of 17 relationships with TRS commitment totaling $724 million. In the past five years, the total percentage of assets in the TRS portfolio managed by minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE) firms has increased by 17.9 percent, resulting in the need to increase the size of the EMP. Overall, TRS commitments to MWBE firms, including EMP allocations, total $12.6 billion, representing 23.4 percent of the system’s total portfolio.

“The objective of the EMP always has been to invest in promising, developing asset managers and to create meaningful, long-term relationships,” said Stan Rupnik, acting TRS executive director. “Moving forward, the