Marie Steffen

The committee held a biennial compensation review for investment officers. This included a benchmarking analysis of salary positioning compared to peer public pension funds, a discussion on compensation structures, and a review of statutory oversight requirements by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission. The committee recommended that the Board adopt updated salary ranges for investment officers and provided instructions for notifying the Office of Financial Management and legislative fiscal committees regarding these changes.

The board meeting agenda covered a range of administrative and oversight reports, including the biennial appropriated budget and fiscal year non-appropriated budget. Committee reports were presented for the Audit and Public Markets, focusing on accountability audits, audit plans, and revisions to retirement funds equity policy. The Private Markets committee reviewed tangible assets investment recommendations. Furthermore, the meeting included an education session on Ownership Works, a quarterly performance update, and a training session on ethics, conflicts of interest, public records, and the Open Public Meeting Act.

The meeting included a review of the upcoming public markets committee meeting schedule for 2027 and a policy review concerning revisions to the public markets equity retirement funds policy. Educational sessions were conducted covering historical market regimes and the history of U.S. passive equity at the Washington State Investment Board, with discussions on various investment strategies, market concentration, and fundamental index approaches.

The committee reviewed and recommended the selection of Life Cycle Investment Partners as an active global equity strategy manager for the Commingled Trust Fund. Additionally, the committee received an educational session regarding equal-weighted public equity indices, covering their methodology, potential implementation challenges, impacts on concentration risk, and liquidity considerations compared to market capitalization-weighted indices.

The meeting focused on external and internal audit matters, including the fiscal year 2025 accountability audit exit conference, fiscal year 2026 financial statement audit planning, and various internal reports covering cash overlay, the ethics program, and the fiscal year 2026 audit plan status. Additionally, the committee reviewed the proposed fiscal year 2027 audit plan, the upcoming 2027 meeting schedule, and a quarterly investment referral report.