Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, Topeka, may be permitted to invest up to 10% of its $27.4 billion assets in bitcoin ETFs if a new bill introduced in the Kansas State Senate passes.
The bill, SB34, was introduced Jan. 16 in the Senate and was referred the next day to its Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance. The bill authorizes the retirement plan's board “to invest up to 10% of the moneys of the Kansas public employees retirement fund in bitcoin exchange-traded products.”
The passage of such a bill would be a dramatic turnaround for a traditionally conservative state in allowing nontraditional asset classes such as alternatives to be invested by the pension fund’s board.
Up until the spring of 2024, the board was only authorized to invest up to 15% of the pension fund’s total assets in alternatives. Then legislation passed in April 2024 that authorized the pension fund to invest up to 25% of its assets in alternatives.
Emily Wilson, spokesperson at the pension fund, said in an email that “KPERS reviews and monitors potential legislation very closely.” She had no additional information to provide.
The bill was sponsored by Republican Senator Craig Bowser; he could not be immediately reached for comment.
As of June 30, the pension fund’s actual allocation was 24.9% domestic equities, 23.4% international equities, 13.2% fixed income, 11.8% yield-driven assets, 10.3% alternatives, 9.9% real estate, 3.9% cash and 2.6% real return.
The target allocation is 22% each domestic equities and international equities, 14% real estate, 13% fixed income, 12% yield-driven assets, 11% alternatives and 3% each cash and real return.
