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State of Michigan Retirement Systems

Pension fund · East Lansing, United States

#103 LP Ranking #48 of 1,316 pension funds
58 VC firms backed
$100B AUM
~$3.0B Allocated to VC (est. 3%)
01 · Background

Who State of Michigan Retirement Systems is.

Historical Background
The State of Michigan Retirement Systems (SMRS) is the investment manager for the state's various public employee retirement plans, including those for state employees, public school employees, state police, and judges. The Michigan State Employees' Retirement System (SERS), a major component of the overall system, was established by Public Act 240 of 1943 to provide retirement, survivor, and disability benefits to state government employees. The Office of Retirement Services (ORS) was created to administer the services for the various retirement systems, which were established through separate public acts passed by the Michigan Legislature.
Source of Capital
The system's capital is sourced from the pension funds of Michigan's public sector employees. These funds are a combination of employee and employer contributions, as well as investment returns generated by the system's assets.
Major Events
In 1997, Michigan closed its traditional defined-benefit pension plan to new state employees and introduced a defined-contribution 401(k)-style plan for all employees hired on or after March 31, 1997. In 2010, the state enacted reforms requiring most members to contribute more toward their pensions or accept a reduced benefit in retirement. A 2017 reform gave new school employees a choice between an improved 401(k)-style plan and a hybrid pension/defined contribution plan, aiming to reduce the system's long-term unfunded liabilities.
Allocation Strategy
The system invests across a diversified range of asset classes, including domestic and international equities, fixed income, real estate, and alternative investments. Alternative investments are a significant component of the portfolio, which includes allocations to private equity, venture capital, and absolute return strategies. The investment division, working with the State Treasurer, sets long-term strategic asset allocation targets to ensure the payment of future retirement benefits. For fiscal year 2023, the target allocation for private equity was 18% and for real and opportunistic assets it was 20%.
Sources
02 · Fund commitments

The funds State of Michigan Retirement Systems backs.

State of Michigan Retirement Systems is a limited partner in 58 funds. 12 of them place in the Power Law Investor Ranking; those lead, best-ranked first.

Accel
United States
#4 Power Law
Lightspeed Venture Partners
United States
#7 Power Law
Khosla Ventures
United States
#12 Power Law
Insight Partners
United States
#23 Power Law
Battery Ventures
United States
#54 Power Law
Menlo Ventures
United States
#75 Power Law
Meritech Capital
United States
#107 Power Law
FirstMark
United States
#127 Power Law
Greenspring Associates
United States
#197 Power Law
Warburg Pincus
United States
#233 Power Law
Flagship Pioneering
United States
#314 Power Law
InterWest Partners
United States
#395 Power Law
03 · Allocation

How State of Michigan Retirement Systems’ fund book is spread.

The 58 funds State of Michigan Retirement Systems backs, by where the manager is headquartered and how many funds that manager has raised.

Where those managers are based

By fund headquarters.

  • North America 5391%
  • Europe 59%

United States 53 · France 2 · United Kingdom 2 · Ireland 1

How established those managers are

Managers grouped by how many funds they have raised — across the 34 of 58 with a fund history on record.

Emerging funds · 10
Established funds · 24
4 1
4 2
2 3
7 4
3 5-6
3 7-9
5 10-14
6 15+
Funds raised by the manager
04 · Direct investments

The companies State of Michigan Retirement Systems backs directly.

State of Michigan Retirement Systems holds 5 companies directly, separate from the funds it commits to as a limited partner.

Indigo
Food · USA
$3.5B valuation Unicorn
Inari
Food · USA
$2.2B valuation Unicorn
Lila Sciences
Health · USA
$1.3B valuation Unicorn
Gropyus
Real Estate · Austria
$440M valuation
Senda Biosciences
Health · USA
$492M valuation
05 · Portfolio founders

Where State of Michigan Retirement Systems’ portfolio founders come from.

16 founders across the 5 highest-funded portfolio companies — by current location, university attended, and the companies they worked at before founding. Sourced from the founder records the API links to each portfolio company.

LocationCount
  1. United States10
  2. Germany2
  3. Austria1
  4. Liechtenstein1
  5. Switzerland1
UniversityCount
  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology4
  2. Harvard University2
  3. California Polytechnic State University1
  4. Caltech, California Institute of Technology1
  5. Harvard Medical School1
  6. Heilongjiang University1
  7. IE Business School1
  8. Johns Hopkins University1
  9. Louisiana State University1
  10. McGill University1
Previous companyCount
  1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology2
  2. Syngenta2
  3. 9Cookies1
  4. AGBU1
  5. Agile Devices1
  6. Agrinos1
  7. Alltrna1
  8. Bayes Esports1
  9. BIND Therapeutics1
  10. Biognosys1
06 · Other LPs

Other LPs.

Other pension funds in the Power Law LP ranking, closest to State of Michigan Retirement Systems by combined power-law score — North America first, then the nearest worldwide.

HP Pension Plan
LP rank #80 · United States
$5.2B AUM 23 VC funds backed
Arkansas Teacher Retirement System
LP rank #82 · United States
$23B AUM 50 VC funds backed
Sidley Austin Master Pension Trust
LP rank #84 · United States
$1.1B AUM 43 VC funds backed
National Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension Fund
LP rank #95 · United States
$1.7B AUM 57 VC funds backed
STRS Ohio
LP rank #96 · United States
$95B AUM 106 VC funds backed
State of Michigan
LP rank #97 · United States
$96B AUM 55 VC funds backed
Bessemer Trust
LP rank #110 · United States
$45B AUM 26 VC funds backed
Lockheed Martin Master Retirement Trust
LP rank #111 · United States
$24B AUM 37 VC funds backed