Investment Committee Meeting Minutes

Meeting: October 23, 2025 | Posted: December 9, 2025 | SURS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

The meeting of the of the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) convened on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.

This meeting was held in person at State Universities Retirement System, in Champaign, IL.

The following trustees were present: Dr. Andry Bodnaruk (Zoom); Mr. Richard Figueroa (Zoom); Dr. Fred Giertz; Mr. Scott Hendrie, chair; Mr. Pranav Kothari (Zoom); Mr. John Lyons; Mr. Herbert Pitman (Zoom); Dr. Steven Rock; Mr. Collin Van Meter; and Mr. Antonio Vasquez.

Others present: Ms. Suzanne Mayer, Executive Director; Mr. Michael Schlachter, Chief Investment Officer (CIO); Ms. Jessica Pickens, Mr. Alex Ramos, Mr. Joe Duncan, and Mr. Shane Willoughby, Senior Investment Officers; Ms. Stephany Brinkman, Associate Investment Officer; Mr. Darian Saracevic, Senior Investment Analyst; Mr. Al Lund, Ms. Madison Manns, Ms. Estefany Andrade, and Mr. Graham Turk, Investment Analysts; Ms. Tracy Bennett, Senior Investment Compliance Analyst; Ms. Bianca Green, General Counsel; Ms. Tara Myers, Chief Financial Officer; Ms. Jackie Hohn, Chief Internal Auditor; Ms. Nichole Hemming, Chief Human Resources Officer; Mr. Jefferey Saiger, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer; Ms. Anna Dempsey, Investment Counsel; Mr. Albert Lee, Associate Legal Counsel; Ms. Kristen Houch, Director of Legislative and Stakeholder Relations; Ms. Kelly Carson, Ms. Chelsea McCarty, and Ms. Annette Ackerman, Executive Assistants; Mr. Colin Bebee, of Meketa (Zoom); and Mr. Michael Calabrese of Foley & Lardner LLP.

Investment Committee roll call attendance was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, not called; Trustee Figueroa, not called; Trustee Giertz, present; Trustee Hendrie (chair), present; Trustee Jiganti, not called; Trustee Kothari, not called; Trustee Lyons, present; Trustee Pitman, not called; Trustee Rock, present; Trustee Van Meter, present; and Trustee Vasquez, present.

Motion to Allow Trustees to Participate Via Electrionic Means

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That Trustees Bodnaruk, Figueroa, Jiganti, and Pitman be allowed to participate via video or audio conference call for the Investment Committee Meeting on October 23, 2025, pursuant to Section 7(a) of the Open Meetings Act.

Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – not called
Trustee Figueroa – not called
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – not called
Trustee Kothari – not called
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – not called
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Roll call attendance for trustees participating via electronic means was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, present; Trustee Figueroa, present; Trustee Jiganti, absent; and Trustee Pitman, present.

Approval of Minutes

Trustee Hendrie presented the minutes from the Investment Committee meeting of September 11, 2025.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the minutes from the September 11, 2025, Investment Committee meeting be approved as presented.

Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion which passed with all trustees present voting in favor of the same.

Approval Closed of Minutes

Trustee Hendrie presented the closed minutes from the Investment Committee meeting of September 11, 2025.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the closed minutes from the September 11, 2025, Investment Committee meeting be approved as presented and remain closed.

Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the same.

Chairperson’s Report

Trustee Hendrie did not have a chairperson’s report.

CIO Report

Mr. Michael Schlachter provided an organizational update on Aksia, the SURS private equity discretionary manager, stating that there would be a change to the primary service team. A new person has been assigned to assist SURS and we will begin working with them soon. Mr. Schlachter plans to send out a survey to trustees asking them to provide feedback on the SURS general consultant, Meketa, as part of the midpoint review process.

Closed Session

At 9:24 a.m. Trustee Rock moved that the Investment Committee go into closed session pursuant to §2(c)(7) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act to consider the sale or purchase of securities, investments, or investment contracts. Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Return to Open Session

The Investment Committee returned to open session at 10:55 a.m.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That based upon the recommendation from SURS staff and Meketa, SURS commit $150 million to Fairview Lincoln Fund 1 Series D, subject to successful completion of contract negotiations.

Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Principal Protection, Inflation Sensitive, Public Credit Class Review (Educational Session)

Mr. Alex Ramos and Ms. Stephany Brinkman reviewed the document titled, “Public Fixed Income Asset Class Review” which included a review of the public fixed income strategies in the stabilized growth, principal protection, and inflation sensitive classes. Policy targets, performance, and portfolio characteristics were also discussed.

The educational session lasted 20 minutes.

Updates to SURS Investment Beliefs, SURS Investment Policy, and SURS Procurement Policy

Mr. Schlachter reminded trustees that these items are follow-ups to the agenda items discussed in September. The trustees made some suggestions regarding edits to the Investment Beliefs at that meeting and Investment staff worked with the SURS legal team, fiduciary counsel, and the SURS investment consultant to update the written beliefs. Mr. Schachter also noted that there are some small edits to the Investment Policy and the Investment Procurement Policy entitled “Redline Investment Procurement Policy” and “Redline DB Investment Policy.”

Mr. Colin Bebee of Meketa discussed the presentation titled, “Investment Beliefs Update” and he also discussed possible edits to the SURS Investment Beliefs. The trustees provided their input before reaching the final version of the document. .

Trustee Giertz made the following motion:

• That the revised version of the Investment Beliefs provided by SURS staff and Meketa be approved as presented with the additional changes requested by the Investment Committee.

Trustee Rock seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That based upon the recommendation from SURS staff and Meketa, the revised Investment Procurement Policy be approved as presented.

Trustee VanMeter seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That based upon the recommendation from SURS staff and Meketa, the revised Investment Policy for the defined benefit plan be approved as presented.

Trustee VanMeter seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Closed Session

At 12:33 p.m. Trustee Van Meter moved that the Investment Committee go into closed session pursuant to §2(c)(7) of the Illinois Open Meetings Act to consider the sale or purchase of securities, investments, or investment contracts. Trustee Vasquez seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – aye
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – absent
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Return to Open Session

The Investment Committee returned to open session at 2:57 p.m.

Trustee Vasquez made the following motion:

• That based upon the recommendations from SURS staff and Meketa, SURS retain Graham Capital Management for their Absolute Return strategy with an investment in the amount of $300-$400 million, subject to successful completion of contract and fee negotiations.

Trustee Rock seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – nay
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Trustee Vasquez made the following motion:

• That based upon the recommendations from SURS staff and Meketa, SURS retain Wellington Management for their Macro Strategies Fund with an investment in the amount of $300-$400 million, subject to successful completion of contract and fee negotiations.

Trustee Rock seconded the motion which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Public Comment

There were no public comments presented to the Investment Committee.

Adjourn

There was no further business brought before the committee and Trustee Rock moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Vasquez which passed via the following roll call vote:

Trustee Bodnaruk – aye
Trustee Figueroa – absent
Trustee Giertz – aye
Trustee Hendrie – aye
Trustee Jiganti – absent
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Ms. Suzanne Mayer

Executive Director and Secretary, SURS Board of Trustees