shall be to encourage and facilitate the education of its membership in all matters related to their duties as fiduciaries overseeing the assets of the pension funds with which they have been entrusted.  It will be PAPERS' primary purpose to conduct an annual educational forum that provides the basis for improved financial and operational performance of the public employee retirement systems in the State. PAPERS will function as a central resource for educational purposes and act as a networking agent for all public plan staff and board members.

Congratulations, SERS! Joe Torta, Executive Director of the PA State Employees Retirement System (SERS), has joined the PAPERS Board of Directors as a plan member. Established in 1923, SERS is one of the oldest and largest public employee pension plans in the nation and joins fellow plan members PSERS, PMRS, the City of Philadelphia, and the counties of Dauphin, Lebanon, and York on the PAPERS Board. These plans represent the top public pension plans in Pennsylvania, not only in size but in forward thinking, their contemporary approach to training and their unwavering desire for fiduciary excellence.
Training its members and all the members of PAPERS would not be possible without the guidance, support and experience of our Corporate Advisory Committee Members:

• BNY Mellon
• CS McKee
• Neuberger Berman
• Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check
• The Hazzouri Group at Morgan Stanley
• Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann
• Korn Ferry
• NAREIT

This is the heart of PAPERS as an organization, and their unwavering focus leads us to announce the reopening of our certificate program in partnership with Penn State Behrend.  Our first plan member to complete the online portion of the new program was A.C. Stickel from Blair County.  CONGRATULATIONS, A.C.!!!  In A. C.’s words, “I don’t know why I waited so long to do this! “.
The job of a trustee for a public pension plan is the most important role in the industry. I am so proud of PAPERS’ ability to support all public plans in Pennsylvania in their quest for fiduciary excellence. I would urge every plan to enroll today in the online training section of the certificate program.  More information about the certification may be found in this newsletter and on the PAPERS website!

Karen Deklinski
PAPERS Executive Director

From the Desk of the PAPERS Board President

Thanks to all who attended the recent PAPERS 20223 Fall Workshop at the Harrisburg Hilton. We were excited to return to a totally in-person format. We heard from all of you that we miss the interaction with our peers and frankly so did I. The in-person format gives us more opportunities to interact and network with fellow members and sponsors.

From benefit disbursements to private equity to deferred compensation to risk management and other topics we covered during the conference, we also had the added benefit of enjoying each other’s company at the National Civil War Museum Wednesday evening.  None of this is possible without all our corporate sponsors and most especially our long-time friend, supporter and founding board member Platinum Sponsor BNY Mellon and our second Platinum Sponsor Bernstein litowitz Berger and Grossmann LLP.  Sponsors pave the way for PAPERS' continued success.

PAPERS is already planning for its 2024 conferences; see those dates below. Reserve the dates and plan to attend.

Bob Mettley
PAPERS Board President  

Click here for the conference agenda.

Thank you to these corporate sponsors for this conference:

Platinum Sponsors - BNY Mellon; Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP

Gold Sponsors - Ares Management; Neuberger Berman

Silver Sponsors - Capital Dynamics; Motley Rice LLC; Nareit

Just below you'll find a link to the latest edition of the PAPERS newsletter (Summer 2023). Our goal is to provide interesting reading and a variety of points of interest to spark conversations in the realm of public pensions.   Thank you to those who have contributed articles and suggestions to this edition. 

Certified PA Public Retirement Plan Professional

Click here for more information.