The board of the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System, Jefferson City, voted 8-1 Jan. 21 to eliminate controversial investment staff bonuses and implement a new pay structure that aims to attract and retain investment staff, confirmed Christine Rackers, manager of investment policy and communications at the $7 billion system.
The decision follows heavy criticism of $460,000 in bonuses paid to staff in 2009, despite the fund's $1.8 billion in losses in 2008. Bonuses are about one-tenth of 1% of the amount investment staff generates above the system's benchmarks.
Gary Findlay, MOSERS executive director, proposed eliminating the bonuses and adopting a base pay compensation structure, Ms. Rackers said.
“His reason for the proposal is that he felt it had been a divisive issue and he wanted to allow staff and the board to return its focus to the business of getting the best risk-adjusted investment returns and providing the excellent service to our members at the lowest possible cost,” Ms. Rackers said in a telephone interview.
She said the board at its March meeting will consider whether to hire a compensation consultant to help restructure employee pay. A final compensation plan is expected by June, when the board sets its budget for the upcoming fiscal year, she said.
