Meeting of the Investment Committee

Meeting: June 4, 2026 | Posted: September 15, 2026 | SURS Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

The meeting of the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees of the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) convened on Thursday, June 4, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. 

This meeting was held in person at Northern Trust in Chicago, IL.

The following trustees were present: Dr. Andry Bodnaruk; Dr. Fred Giertz; Mr. Scott Hendrie, chair; Ms. Jeanine Jiganti; Mr. Pranav Kothari; Mr. Herbert Pitman; Dr. Steven Rock; and Mr. Antonio Vasquez (via Zoom).

Others present: Ms. Suzanne Mayer, Executive Director; Mr. Michael Schlachter, Chief Investment Officer (CIO); Ms. Jessica Pickens, Mr. Joe Duncan and Mr. Shane Willoughby, Sr. Investment Officers; Ms. Stephany Brinkman, Associate Investment Officer; Mr. Al Lund, Mr. Darian Saracevic, Mr. Graham Turk, Ms. Estefany Andrade, and Ms. Madison Manms, Investment Analysts; Ms. Tracy Bennett, 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; Mr. Mark Rowe, Chief Benefits Officer; 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. David Sancewich, Steve Voss, and Mr. Colin Bebee, of Meketa; Ms. Heidi Poon and Mr. Nick Detmer, Aksia; and Mr. Michael Calabrese, Foley & Lardner LLP.

Investment Committee roll call attendance was taken: Trustee Bodnaruk, present; Trustee Figueroa, absent; Trustee Giertz, present; Trustee Hendrie (chair), present; Trustee Jiganti, present; Trustee Kothari, present; Trustee Lyons, absent; Trustee Pitman, present; Trustee Rock, present; Trustee Van Meter, absent; and Trustee Vasquez, absent.

Trustee Lyons physically joined the meeting at 10:45 a.m. and Trustee Figueroa physically joined the meeting at 12:00 p.m.

Motion to Allow Trustees to Participate via Electronic Means

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That Trustee Vasquez be allowed to participate via video or audio conference call for the Investment committee Meeting on June 4, 2026, pursuant to Section 7(a) of the Open Meetings Act.

Trustee Kothari 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 – aye
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – absent
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – aye
Trustee Vasquez – not called

Roll call attendance for trustees participating via electronic means was taken: Trustee Vasquez, absent. Trustee Vasquez joined the meeting via Zoom at 9:15 a.m.

Approval of Minutes

Trustee Hendrie presented the minutes from the Investment Committee meeting of April 16, 2026.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the minutes from the April 16, 2026, Investment Committee meeting be approved as presented.

Trustee Bodnaruk seconded the motion, which passed with all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.

Approval of Closed Minutes

Trustee Hendrie presented the closed minutes from the Investment Committee meeting of April 16, 2026.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the closed minutes from the April 16, 2026, Investment Committee meeting be approved as presented and remain closed.

Trustee Bodnaruk seconded the motion, which passed via all trustees present voting in favor of the motion.

Chairperson’s Report

Trustee Hendrie did not have a chairperson’s report.

CIO Report

Mr. Michael Schlachter provided a brief update of current market conditions and discussed the other items outlined on the agenda. Three written reports were provided to the trustees titled, “CIO Report from the March 2026 Investment Committee Meeting,” “CIO Report Regarding Actions taken Under Delegated Authority,” and “Investment Contracts Approved by Executive Director,” each of which contains information relating to delegated authority and the approval of investment contracts.

Closed Session

At 9:14 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 Kothari 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 – aye
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – absent
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – absent
Trustee Vasquez – absent

Return to Open Session

The Investment Committee returned to open session at 9:36 a.m.
Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That based upon the recommendation from SURS staff and Meketa, One River be terminated as a Long Volatility manager and that SURS assets be liquidated with appropriate timing as determined by SURS Investment staff.

Trustee Kothari 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 – aye
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – absent
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – absent
Trustee Vasquez – aye

Updated of Global Shipping and Logistics – Educational Session

Mr. Dwight Angelini of Longpoint Realty provided an educational presentation titled, “Supply Chain Overview” which covered the current global trade environment, supply chain trends, and industrial impacts.

The educational session lasted for thirty-five minutes, concluding at 10:56 a.m.

Crisis Risk Offset Asset Class Annual Review

Ms. Jessica Pickens presented the Crisis Risk Offset (CRO) annual review with the document titled, “CRO Asset Class Review June 2026”. The presentation included a summary of accomplishments made over the last year as well as discussions concerning exposure, benchmarking, long duration, trend following, and long volatility/tail risk.

Private Equity Principles

Trustee Rock discussed various labor principles for private equity and identified other institutions that have adopted those principles. He then explained why he believes SURS should also adopt them. Trustee Rock provided the documents, “Illinois State Board of Investments (ISBI) Labor Principles for Private Equity,” “List of Adoptees for Private Equity,” and “Tarbox V.2” for reference. Trustees then asked questions and discussed the best practices for SURS. After deliberation, Trustee Rock noted that there did not seem to be enough interest in moving forward with seeking to adopt the proposed set of private equity principles for SURS, so he did not make a motion to adopt them.

Quarterly Performance Review

Mr. David Sancewich of Meketa provided a brief update to the committee regarding final total fund performance through March 31, 2026, with his presentation titled, “26Q1 SURS Board Report”.

Corporate Governance Update and Proxy Voting Service Provider Recommendation

Ms. Stephany Brinkman presented her presentation titled, “Corporate Governance Update Compiled” which covered SURS governance activity as of March 31, 2026. Her report included a quarterly report, an update from the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) and current proxy voting information. Ms. Brinkman also discussed the staff recommendation for retaining a new Proxy Voting and Research Service Provider. Ms. Brinkman stated that after completing the necessary due diligence, SURS staff recommend retaining the services of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) as the new proxy voting service provider for SURS.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That based upon the recommendation from SURS Staff, SURS retain Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) as the new proxy voting provider for SURS with direction to use their thematic public fund voting policy, pending successful contract negotiations.

Trustee Giertz 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 – aye
Trustee Kothari – aye
Trustee Lyons – aye
Trustee Pitman – aye
Trustee Rock – aye
Trustee Van Meter – absent
Trustee Vasquez – absent

Informational Items Not Requiring Committee Action

1. SURS Fiscal Year To Date Private Equity and Private Credit Commitments – as of 3.31.26
2. Supplemental Information

Public Comment

There were no public comments presented to the Investment Committee.

Adjourn

There was no further business brought before the Investment Committee and Trustee Kothari moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Trustee Giertz, and it passed via the following roll call vote:

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

Ms. Suzanne M. Mayer
Executive Director and Secretary, Board of Trustees