The $127B North Carolina Retirement Systems’ investment decisions will now be made by a new board of directors.
Last Friday, Governor Josh Stein signed a law, the 2025 Investment Modernization Act, which shifts responsibility of the state’s pension investment decisions from the treasurer to a “newly created, multi-member Investment Authority” board tasked with increasing investment returns, according to a press release by State Treasurer Brad Briner’s office.
The bill, which was spearheaded by Briner, is part of the treasurer’s efforts to modernize and improve North Carolina’s investment strategy.
“North Carolinians deserve to know that their pension fund is working as hard for them as they worked for their state,” said Briner, in the release. “The reforms signed into law today will put us on a path to maximizing returns, and I am honored this was not only a top priority of mine — but that leaders on both sides of the aisle share our vision of strengthening the pension fund.”
Prior to the new law, the state’s investment decisions rested solely at the treasurer’s discretion. While the treasurer will chair the five-member board, other members will comprise financial professionals appointed by the treasurer, legislative leaders, and the governor. The board will rebalance asset allocation and identify strategies to improve the performance and returns of the pension plan.
“This process will be stronger when more voices are involved,” said Gov. Stein in the release, noting, while he had confidence that Briner was “steering state investments in the right direction” as sole fiduciary, he applauds the treasurer’s vision to restructure the process.
The North Carolina Retirement Systems administers benefits for eight separate systems and funds representing over 1M members. NCRS distributes about $640M in monthly benefit checks.
