Overview
The Office of the Illinois Treasurer utilizes external investment managers to help support several investment programs under the Treasurer’s purview, including: (1) 529 College Savings Program, (2) Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund, (3) FIRST Fund (4) Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Savings Program, (5) Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, and (6) State Investments.
529 College Savings Program
The Illinois State Treasurer is the trustee of Illinois’ two 529 College Savings Plans, Bright Start and Bright Directions. Together these programs represent approximately $17 billion in assets.
The two plans are “qualified tuition programs” under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code. As such, investments grow tax-free as long as withdrawals are used to pay for higher education expenses (e.g., tuition, fees, books, room and board).
Bright Start and Bright Directions offers three categories of investment portfolios to meet participants’ needs, risk tolerance, and investing styles. Investment options include: Age-Based, Target, and Individual Fund Portfolios. Each portfolio invests in funds across all traditional public market asset classes, including cash and cash equivalents, fixed income, equities, and real assets.
Investment Consultants: Wilshire Associates, Marquette Associates
Eligibility: Prospective investment managers must be managed by one of the following entities:
• Registered Investment Advisor
• Registered Investment Company
The Office of the Illinois Treasurer will only consider – with the exception of sub-advisory firms owned by minorities, women, veterans, or persons with a disability – registered investment companies that offer pooled investment vehicles that comply with the Investment Act of 1940 for externally managed programs, including the following pooled investment vehicles:
• Mutual Funds
• Exchange-Traded Funds
Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund
The Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund (ILGIF) is an evergreen impact investment fund, will invest in ways that attract, assist and retain quality technology-enabled businesses in Illinois. In August 2018, Treasurer Michael Frerichs announced an increase to the amount of investment capital available through ILGIF, increasing the total to approximately $1.5 billion in available investment capital over 10 years from the State's existing investment portfolio. Furthermore, ILGIF was structured as an evergreen fund designed to allocate capital on a recurring basis, in perpetuity, to be invested with Illinois venture capital, growth equity and private venture debt investment firms with a goal of investing in tech-enabled businesses seeking to locate, expand or remain in Illinois.
Investment Advisor: 50 South Capital Advisors
Eligibility: ILGIF eligibility requirements are detailed at www.ILGIF.com (scroll down to “Requirements”).
FIRST Fund
The FIRST Fund is a first-of-its-kind impact investment fund dedicated to strengthening Illinois’ infrastructure and real estate. Legally named the Infrastructure Development Act, the legislation was proposed by Illinois Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs to address the need for investment within the State of Illinois. The authority allows for the Illinois State Treasurer to allocate up to 5% of the State Portfolio to invest in, create, and maintain infrastructure and real estate assets within the State through Illinois Infrastructure Development firms. Furthermore, FIRST Fund is structured as an evergreen fund designed to allocate capital on a recurring basis, in perpetuity, to be invested with Illinois Infrastructure Development firms with a goal of investing in Illinois Development Projects.
Investment Advisor: The Rock Creek Group
Eligibility: Eligible managers must have a significant presence in Illinois and have a proven track record of investing in Illinois infrastructure development projects.
Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Savings Program
The Illinois ABLE program is a tax-advantaged investment program that provides persons with blindness or disabilities the option to save for disability-related expenses without putting their federal means tested benefits at risk.
Illinois ABLE offers a range of investment options to match constituents’ goals and comfort with risk. From aggressive options seeking higher returns to conservative investments that place capital preservation over growth, Illinois ABLE has choices for every investor. Each portfolio is underpinned primarily by passively managed index funds across traditional public market asset classes including cash and cash equivalents, fixed income, equities, and real estate.
Investment Consultant: Marquette Associates
Eligibility: Prospective investment managers must be managed by one of the following entities:
• Registered Investment Advisor
• Registered Investment Company
The Office of the Illinois Treasurer will only consider – with the exception of sub-advisory firms owned by minorities, women, veterans, or persons with a disability – registered investment companies that offer pooled investment vehicles that comply with the Investment Act of 1940 for externally managed programs, including the following pooled investment vehicles:
• Mutual Funds
• Exchange-Traded Funds
Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program
The Office of the Illinois Treasurer administers the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program (Secure Choice) on behalf of the Secure Choice Board. Secure Choice is run by a seven-person Board, with Treasurer Frerichs serving as Chair.
Secure Choice is a retirement savings program for workers in Illinois that do not have access to a workplace retirement savings option. Secure Choice offers Illinois businesses with at least 15 employees, that have been in business for two or more years, and who do not currently provide a qualified savings plan, the option to either offer a private market savings vehicle, or automatically enroll their employees into Secure Choice.
Illinois Secure Choice offers a range of investment options, from aggressive investments seeking higher returns to conservative investments options that seek to protect the principal. When individuals invest in Secure Choice, they get access to high-quality individual funds or target date funds, the value of which vary with market conditions. This includes cash and cash equivalents, fixed income, public equities, and real estate.
Investment Consultant: Marquette Associates
Eligibility: Prospective investment managers must be managed by one of the following entities:
• Registered Investment Advisor
• Registered Investment Company
The Office of the Illinois Treasurer will only consider – with the exception of sub-advisory firms owned by minorities, women, veterans, or persons with a disability – registered investment companies that offer pooled investment vehicles that comply with the Investment Act of 1940 for externally managed programs, including the following pooled investment vehicles:
• Mutual Funds
• Exchange-Traded Funds
State Investments
The Office of the Illinois Treasurer is charged with providing treasury, cash management, and investment support to Illinois government agencies, boards and commissions in a manner that provides the most advantageous solution to their individual needs. The Office of the Illinois Treasurer manages State Investments, with assets of approximately $12-$15 billion, providing the necessary liquidity to meet the State’s daily obligations while investing remaining funds in authorized short/long-term investment opportunities.
The Office of the Illinois Treasurer utilized external managers to invest in a limited number of assets classes (e.g. municipal bonds, corporate bonds).
Investment Consultant: Marquette Associates
Eligibility: External managers seeking to support the State Investment portfolio must partake in a Request for Proposal (RFP) process when opportunities become available. RFP’s are posted on the Treasurer's Procurement webpage. To receive automatic email notifications when new RFPs are issued, sign up for procurement notification system.
Investment Policy Statements
The Office of the Illinois Treasurer maintains investment policy statements for each investment program under the Treasurer’s purview. These policies provide detailed information on each program’s investment objectives, investment parameters, administrative responsibilities, contractual needs, and reporting requirements.
MWVD and Illinois-Based Investment Managers
The Office of the Illinois Treasurer is focused on providing business opportunities to investment managers based in Illinois and firms owned by minorities, women, veterans, and persons with a disability (MWVD). Please visit the relevant pages for more info: MWVD Firms and Illinois Firms.
Contact Us
If you manage an investment vehicle and are seeking consideration or have general questions about doing business with the Office of the Illinois Treasurer, please email Investments@IllinoisTreasurer.gov.