The mission of the Pennsylvania Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (PAPERS) 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.

To learn more about PAPERS, please click here.

What a busy fall we have planned!  The opportunities abound.  Let me highlight a couple important ones that directly involve PAPERS and the work we do. 

Front and center is the Fall Workshop scheduled for November 15 and 16, in Philadelphia.  Starting with a well-known and respected Keynote Speaker, Richard Marston, and including hands-on advice about investment guideline details and peer-to-peer networking, to timely market and security updates, to innovative ideas in portfolio management, we have a packed agenda,  and hope you agree, a very educational one.  Details about how to register, the evolving agenda, and hotel reservation information can be found on the links below.

Additionally, the PAPERS webinar series continues on October 19th with a presentation by the International Equity team at Neuberger Berman.  The last webinar in the series is set for December 21st and is devoted to the Alternative Investment Class – Real Estate, Private Equity, Hedge Funds and More.  Remember the earlier sessions have been recorded and can be found under the "Webinars" tab on this website.

Finally, allow me to share that the organization’s Board of Directors has accepted my resignation (a word about that below) and has started a search for a new Executive Director(s).  Please click for the posting of the Executive Director Job Announcement and the detailed Executive Director Job Description defining the service and skills being sought.  The Board is asking that interested candidates submit a letter of interest, resume listing relevant experience and qualifications, and salary requirements to pa-pers@comcast.net by October 31, 2016.  

And while not quite my farewell, I do think it appropriate to acknowledge here why I have decided to “retire, retire” as I have been describing my resignation.  It clearly is not due to a souring on the job or the organization.  I don’t think you can find someone more committed to PAPERS’ Mission Statement or fiduciary education.  It certainly isn’t due to a difference with any of the organization’s members (Participating, Affiliate, or Associate).  To a person they have all been supportive, friendly, and encouraging.  And finally, it doesn’t stem from any disagreement with the Executive Board or our Officers.  They too have been whole hearted supporters and wonderful to work with and for.  The reason quite simply is that after 40 plus years in the professional world (30 plus working in the public pension arena), I believe it time to put in practice what I learned about retirement.  I plan to enjoy my family, spoil my grandchildren, garden, and travel…all the things we say we want to do but somehow run out of time to do it.

I will be around until December 31, and hope to work with many of you and talk to many more friends in that time.  So what a busy fall it will be!

James B. Allen

PAPERS Executive Director

Click here for a conference registration form.

Click here for hotel details and driving directions.

Click here to view the conference tentative agenda.

Special Thanks to These Corporate Sponsors for the Workshop

Platinum Sponsors

Aon Hewitt

T. Rowe Price

Gold Sponsor

NB (Neuberger Berman)

Silver Sponsors

Delaware Investments

National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts