SB0437eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0437 Engrossed LRB099 03097 RPS 23105 b

AN ACT concerning public employee benefits.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Pension Code is amended by changing Section 1-113.14 as follows:

(40 ILCS 5/1-113.14)

Sec. 1-113.14. Investment services for retirement systems, pension funds, and investment boards, except those funds established under Articles 3 and 4.

(a) For the purposes of this Section, "investment services" means services provided by an investment adviser or a consultant other than qualified fund-of-fund management services as defined in Section 1-113.15.

(b) The selection and appointment of an investment adviser or consultant for investment services by the board of a retirement system, pension fund, or investment board subject to this Code, except those whose investments are restricted by Section 1-113.2, shall be made and awarded in accordance with this Section. All contracts for investment services shall be awarded by the board using a competitive process that is substantially similar to the process required for the procurement of professional and artistic services under Article 35 of the Illinois Procurement Code. Each board of trustees shall adopt a policy in accordance with this subsection (b) within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. The policy shall be posted on its web site and filed with the Illinois Procurement Policy Board. Exceptions to this Section are allowed for (i) sole source procurements, (ii) emergency procurements, (iii) at the discretion of the pension fund, retirement system, or board of investment, contracts that are nonrenewable and one year or less in duration, so long as the contract has a value of less than $20,000, and (iv) in the discretion of the pension fund, retirement system, or investment board, contracts for follow-on funds with the same fund sponsor through closed-end funds, and (v) at the discretion of the pension fund, retirement system, or investment board, contracts with an emerging investment manager that has invested assets of the pension fund, retirement system, or investment board within a manager of managers services agreement. All exceptions granted under this Section must be published on the system's, fund's, or board's web site, shall name the person authorizing the procurement, and shall include a brief explanation of the reason for the exception.

A person, other than a trustee or an employee of a retirement system, pension fund, or investment board, may not act as a consultant or investment adviser under this Section unless that person is registered as an investment adviser under the federal Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-1, et seq.) or a bank, as defined in the federal Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-1, et seq.).

(c) Investment services provided by an investment adviser or a consultant appointed under this Section shall be rendered pursuant to a written contract between the investment adviser or consultant and the board.

The contract shall include all of the following:

(1) Acknowledgement in writing by the investment adviser or consultant that he or she is a fiduciary with respect to the pension fund or retirement system.

(2) The description of the board's investment policy and notice that the policy is subject to change.

(3) (i) Full disclosure of direct and indirect fees, commissions, penalties, and other compensation, including reimbursement for expenses, that may be paid by or on behalf of the consultant in connection with the provision of services to the pension fund or retirement system and (ii) a requirement that the consultant update the disclosure promptly after a modification of those payments or an additional payment.

(4) A requirement that the investment adviser or consultant, in conjunction with the board's staff, submit periodic written reports, on at least a quarterly basis, for the board's review at its regularly scheduled meetings. All returns on investment shall be reported as net returns after payment of all fees, commissions, and any other compensation.

(5) Disclosure of the names and addresses of (i) the consultant or investment adviser; (ii) any entity that is a parent of, or owns a controlling interest in, the consultant or investment adviser; (iii) any entity that is a subsidiary of, or in which a controlling interest is owned by, the consultant or investment adviser; (iv) any persons who have an ownership or distributive income share in the consultant or investment adviser that is in excess of 7.5%; or (v) serves as an executive officer of the consultant or investment adviser.

(6) A disclosure of the names and addresses of all subcontractors, if applicable, and the expected amount of money each will receive under the contract, including an acknowledgment that the contractor must promptly make notification, in writing, if at any time during the term of the contract a contractor adds or changes any subcontractors. For purposes of this subparagraph (6), "subcontractor" does not include non-investment related professionals or professionals offering services that are not directly related to the investment of assets, such as legal counsel, actuary, proxy-voting services, services used to track compliance with legal standards, and investment fund of funds where the board has no direct contractual relationship with the investment advisers or partnerships.

(7) A description of service to be performed.

(8) A description of the need for the service.

(9) A description of the plan for post-performance review.

(10) A description of the qualifications necessary.

(11) The duration of the contract.

(12) The method for charging and measuring cost.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a retirement system, pension fund, or investment board subject to this Code, except those whose investments are restricted by Section 1-113.2 of this Code, shall not enter into a contract with a consultant that exceeds 5 years in duration. No contract to provide consulting services may be renewed or extended. At the end of the term of a contract, however, the consultant is eligible to compete for a new contract as provided in this Section. No retirement system, pension fund, or investment board shall attempt to avoid or contravene the restrictions of this subsection (d) by any means.

(e) Within 60 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, each investment adviser or consultant currently providing services or subject to an existing contract for the provision of services must disclose to the board of trustees all direct and indirect fees, commissions, penalties, and other compensation paid by or on behalf of the investment adviser or consultant in connection with the provision of those services and shall update that disclosure promptly after a modification of those payments or an additional payment. The person shall update the disclosure promptly after a modification of those payments or an additional payment. The disclosures required by this subsection (e) shall be in writing and shall include the date and amount of each payment and the name and address of each recipient of a payment.

(f) The retirement system, pension fund, or board of investment shall develop uniform documents that shall be used for the solicitation, review, and acceptance of all investment services. The form shall include the terms contained in subsection (c) of this Section. All such uniform documents shall be posted on the retirement system's, pension fund's, or investment board's web site.

(g) A description of every contract for investment services shall be posted in a conspicuous manner on the web site of the retirement system, pension fund, or investment board. The description must include the name of the person or entity awarded a contract, the total amount applicable to the contract, the total fees paid or to be paid, and a disclosure approved by the board describing the factors that contributed to the selection of an investment adviser or consultant.

(Source: P.A. 98-433, eff. 8-16-13.)