Meeting of the Investment Committee

Meeting: April 16, 2026 | Posted: June 9, 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, April 16, 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; Mr. Richard Figueroa; Dr. Fred Giertz; Mr. Scott Hendrie (chair); Mr. John Lyons; Mr. Herbert Pitman; 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; Ms. Estefany Andrade, Investment Analyst; Ms. Bianca Green, General Counsel; Ms. Kristen Houch, Director of Legislative and Stakeholder Relations; Mr. Mark Rowe, Chief Benefits Officer; Ms. Kelly Carson, and Ms. Annette Ackerman, Executive Assistants; Mr. David Sancewich and Mr. Colin Bebee of Meketa; and Mr. Michael Calabrese of Foley & Lardner LLP.

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

Trustee Vasquez physically joined the meeting at 9:15 a.m.

Approval of Minutes

Trustee Hendrie presented the minutes from the Investment Committee meeting of March 5, 2026.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the minutes from the March 5, 2026, Investment Committee meeting be approved as presented.

Trustee Van Meter 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 March 5, 2026.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That the closed minutes from the March 5, 2026, Investment Committee meeting be approved as presented and remain closed.

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

Chairperson’s Report

Trustee Hendrie did not have a formal 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 9:09 a.m. Trustee Vasquez 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 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 – absent
Trustee Kothari – absent
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 9:29 a.m.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That based on the recommendation from SURS staff and Meketa, Longtail Capital be terminated as a Systematic Trend Following manager and that SURS assets be liquidated with appropriate timing determined by SURS Investment Staff.

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

Traditional Growth Annual Review

Mr. Alex Ramos, Ms. Stephany Brinkman, and Ms. Estefany Andrade provided the annual review of the Traditional Growth portfolio. The document titled, “Traditional Growth Review” was provided to the trustees. Performance and characteristics of the public equity portfolio was presented and discussed.

Closed Session

At 9:54 a.m. Trustee Giertz 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 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 – absent
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 10:05 a.m.

Trustee Rock made the following motion:

• That based on the recommendation from SURS staff and Meketa, Xponance Asset Management be terminated as a Global Equity Manger and that SURS assets be liquidated with appropriate timing determined by SURS Investment Staff.

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

Artificial Intelligence Impact on Economy and Markets

Mr. Mike Vogelzang of CAPTRUST provided an educational session regarding the current state of artificial intelligence (AI) and the impact it is having on the workforce, economy, and markets. The presentation titled, “AI Overview” was provided to trustees.

The educational session lasted 70 minutes and concluded at 11:35 a.m.

Private Equity Principles

Trustee Rock introduced Mr. Stephen McCourt and Mr. Monte Tarbox to discuss Private Equity Principles. Mr. Tarbox provided a presentation to trustees titled, “Responsible Workforce Management in Private Equity” which included examples of “bad behavior” within private equity portfolio companies and recommendations for how to encourage fair business practices.

Trustee Rock also provided trustees with the following documents, “IL Sustainable Investment Act,” “PESP Labor Policy Comparison,” “Tarbox Bio,” “McCourt Bio,” “SRPS Responsible Workforce Principles,” “ISBI Labor Principles for Private Equity,” “Illinois State Treasurer Human Capital,” “Responsible Workforce Management Policy NY,” and “Human Capital Principles.”

Update on Private Credit – Educational Session

Ms. Mary Bates and Mr. Benjamin Tyler of Meketa, along with Ms. Ahsha Haggart and Mr. Kevin Brooks of Sixth Street Partners, presented their reports titled, “Private Credit Update” and “Sixth Street Credit Investing in the Current Market” which provided information about recent news articles concerning the private credit space and possible investment opportunities for the SURS private credit portfolio.

The educational session lasted 75 minutes and concluded at 1:50 p.m.

Update Capital Market Assumptions – Educational Session

Mr. Bebee provided his report titled, “2026 Capital Market Assumptions” which contains information regarding SURS expected investment returns over time, a market review, and SURS current target allocations.

The educational session lasted 10 minutes and concluded at 2:00 p.m.

Public Comment

There was no public comment 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, and it passed via the following roll call vote:

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

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