PERS committee hears Callan market outlook; approves ORP document change and a new Pathway private-equity series; Wellington removed from DC watch list

Callan consultants briefed the Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi committees on capital market assumptions and performance for the MDC (Mississippi Deferred Compensation plan) and ORP (Optional Retirement Plan), and trustees approved a staff recommendation to commit to another private-equity series with Pathway Capital Management. The committees also removed the Wellington small-cap option from the DC plan watch list and gave initial approval to revise the ORP plan document to reflect an employer contribution rate change.

Callan consultant Alex Ford summarized the market environment for the year-end 2024 review and the firm’s 2025 assumptions. “The S&P 500 gained 25% for the full year,” Ford said, adding that a concentrated handful of large-cap growth names drove much of that return and that “getting to the Fed’s long-term target of 2% (inflation) has proved very difficult.” Ford told trustees that higher short-term yields have raised fixed-income returns prospectively while creating volatility in the nearer term.

Why this matters: Callan’s 10-year projections feed the system’s asset-liability and policy discussions. Callan’s Adam Lewinsky told trustees the system’s policy portfolio projects a 10-year geometric return of about 7.3% under…