Severe Underfunding of U.S. State Pension Plans (2018)

MIPC 2018 Case

A large public pension plan in the U.S. is in danger of collapse. The fund’s Chief Investment Officer must find a long-term portfolio solution that meets the needs of state unions who represent public interests, municipalities who contribute capital to the fund, the state government’s political agendas, federal regulations, and active and retired members of the plan. The case highlights how the going concern regulation creates an intricate relationship between the asset allocation of the fund, its funding ratio, and the required contribution from the municipalities.

Introducing MIPC's Keynote Speaker

Dr. Heather Munroe-Blum

O.C., O.Q., Ph.D., F.R.S.C

Chairperson, Board and Investment Committee

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)

Biography

Served for over a decade as Principal and Vice Chancellor (President) of McGill University. Former Vice-President (Research and International Relations) of the University of Toronto. Current Director of the Royal Bank of Canada, CGI Group, and the Gairdner Foundation (Vice-Chair). Currently a member of the Board of Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) and the Trilateral Commission. Among others, served on the boards of Four Seasons Hotels, Alcan, Yellow Media Inc., and Hydro One (Ontario), and as a member of the President’s Council of the New York Academy of Sciences, the Conference Board of Canada and the CD Howe Institute. Recipient of numerous domestic and international honorary degrees and awards of distinction. Officer of the Order of Canada, Officer of the Order of Quebec, and a Specially Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Building on a distinguished career of clinical, academic and scientific achievements, qualifications include more than 25 years of senior administrative leadership concentrated in higher education, public policy, and, research and development; has extensive board experience as a director on executive, human resources and compensation, governance, investment, finance and risk committees in the corporate and not-for-profit sectors.