38-718. Investment managers; general powers and duties; investment of monies; limitations

A. A financial institution serving as an investment manager does not have a conflict of interest because it is also a depository in which ASRS monies are deposited.

B. The board shall appoint and may remove multiple investment managers to invest and reinvest the assets of ASRS. The board may authorize the director to retain and manage staff to make investments as an investment manager.

C. An investment manager shall be qualified to make the type of investments for which the investment manager is appointed.

D. The board shall:

1. Prescribe investment goals and policies that are consistent with the purposes of this article and the limitations and standard of care prescribed in this section.

2. Allocate assets and use investment strategies to meet the investment goals and policies ASRS prescribes.

3. Adopt specific directives for the guidance of investment managers.

4. Review the performance of each investment manager at least annually or at the request of a board member.

5. Prescribe investment diversification programs and assign investment manager responsibilities regarding those programs as it deems appropriate to achieve its investment goals, objectives and policies.

E. An investment manager shall discharge the duties of the position with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with the same matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims as that of ASRS.

F. An investment manager may invest and reinvest in the name of ASRS all ASRS monies assigned to the investment manager and shall purchase and sell in the name of ASRS any of the securities and investments held by ASRS under this article. An investment manager may hold, purchase, sell, assign, loan, borrow, transfer and dispose of any of the securities and investments in which any of its account monies are invested, subject to the specific directives determined by ASRS. An investment manager shall redeposit the proceeds of sales, maturities and calls in the ASRS depository.

G. The director may enter into security loan agreements with one or more security lending entities.

H. No more than eighty per cent of ASRS assets may be invested at any given time in equities, measured at market value.

I. No more than forty per cent of ASRS assets may be invested in non-United States public investments, measured at market value.

J. No more than sixty per cent of ASRS assets may be invested internally, measured at market value.

K. No more than five per cent of ASRS assets may be invested in securities issued by any one institution, agency or corporation, other than securities issued as direct obligations of or fully guaranteed by the United States government or mortgage backed securities and agency debentures issued by federal agencies, measured at market value.

L. No more than ten per cent of ASRS assets may be invested in bonds or other evidences of indebtedness of those multinational development banks in which the United States is a member nation, including the international bank for reconstruction and development, the African development bank, the Asian development bank and the inter-American development bank, measured at market value.

M. If a limitation in subsection H, I, J, K or L of this section is reached, ASRS is not required to sell assets, but shall not make any further investments of that type until the limit is no longer exceeded.

N. Notwithstanding any other law, an investment manager is not required to invest in any type of investment that is intended to fund economic development projects, public works or social programs but may consider such economically targeted investments pursuant to its fiduciary responsibility.

O. For the purpose of exercising the investment responsibilities prescribed in this section, the board may enter into contracts to receive market data and other market information from securities, commodities, options and monetary exchanges. These contracts may be interpreted and enforced under the laws of a jurisdiction other than this state and are not subject to section 35-214 or 38-511 or title 41, chapter 23.

P. Proprietary commercial information that is provided to the board, director, investment manager, employees of the director and attorneys of the board or the director relating to investments in which an investment manager has invested or has considered for investment is confidential and not a public record if the information is information that customarily would not be released to the public by the person or entity from whom the information was obtained.