PERS posts fiscal‑year gains; committee hears market update and manager briefings

The Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi’s Investment Committee heard a market update on Oct. 17 that showed strong returns across equity markets for the quarter and continued asset growth for the system, and the committee received presentations from several managers for dedicated mandates.

Chief Investment Officer Charles (last name not specified in transcript) and partner Alex Ford summarized market performance through September: the S&P 500 rose 8.1% in the quarter, international markets and emerging markets posted solid gains, and major indexes benefited from resilient corporate earnings and increased investor interest in AI‑exposed stocks. "Fiscal year to date, as of September 30, the PERS portfolio was up 5.13%," Charles told trustees, citing preliminary returns.

Presentations and manager takeaways - Fisher Investments (Michael Allen, Tommy Romero, Galen Donaldson) said its emerging‑markets strategy has outperformed its benchmark in recent years and credited country and sector positioning — notably China and Brazil exposure — for recent gains. Fisher noted China and India positioning and said the strategy had shifted toward a more "core" posture after earlier growth tilts. - Lazard (Frank Spizzato, James Donald) reported strong results in areas tied to AI and semiconductors and said recent outperformance in international markets has narrowed the gap with U.S. returns. Lazard said some high‑momentum AI‑related names have become expensive and that the team is monitoring valuations. - Northern Trust Asset Management (Ashley Olsen, Reid Lamar) reviewed its international quality small‑cap core strategy, saying the strategy stayed close to sector and country benchmarks and that quality‑focused stock selection generated positive attribution year to date; Northern Trust said the smallest microcap names underperformed this quarter and noted the portfolio trades at lower price/earnings than the index. - Principal (Patrick Buggan, Brian [last name not specified]) updated the committee on international small caps and said the team reduced the holding count to concentrate on higher‑conviction ideas; Principal noted significant commodity and industrial strength in the international small‑cap universe in 2025.

Longer‑term performance and risk management Investment staff said total PERS assets were approaching $38 billion as of the quarter end, and private equity and other alternative allocations contributed to multi‑year returns. Callan representatives noted PERS total fund returns of about 5.1% for the fiscal year to date (through quarter end) and strong multi‑year results: the system has outperformed its benchmark and discount rate over 5‑, 10‑ and 15‑year periods.

Investment policy statements The committee approved updates to three investment policy statements — the hybrid IPS, the Mississippi Deferred Compensation Plan trust statement and the Optional Retirement System IPS — in a single motion. Trustees voted by voice to accept staff recommendations after a brief review; staff said the deferred compensation document included improved clarity that neither the board nor investment staff provide personalized investment advice.

Ending: Trustees recessed for lunch and scheduled follow‑up items, including continuing manager oversight and an update on the Tier 5/plan‑document matter at the December meeting.