Strategic Partnerships

The Treasurer’s Office gains immense value working in partnership with coalitions, corporate governance experts, and other investors. Partnerships help us pursue learning opportunities, advance leading investment practices, and ultimately be better fiduciaries seeking to protect assets and maximize returns. That’s why we are active members of several major investor networks, including those featured below.

Diversity & Inclusion

• Creating more opportunities for minorities, women, veterans, and disabled-owned (“MWVD”) businesses — Inclusion is a key pillar of the Treasurer’s investment approach. Research shows that MWVD-owned companies are often well-positioned to identify market inefficiencies and, as a result, are primed to outperform their peers. Treasurer Frerichs and his team have transformed the culture, policies, and operations of the Treasury to enhance opportunities available to MWVD individuals and business partners. Since Treasurer Frerichs came into office:
  • The Office of the Illinois Treasurer has increased the use of MWVD broker-dealers from 1% to 77%. Total assets brokered by MWVD firms increased from $603 million in FY 2014 to $39 billion in FY 2021.
  • The Office of the Illinois Treasurer has increased assets managed by MWVD firms from $18 million in December 2014 to $3.3 billion as of June 2021.
  • Learn more about the Illinois Treasurer’s focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

• Midwest Investors Diversity Initiative — The Illinois Treasurer leads the Midwest Investors Diversity Initiative (MIDI), a 17-member coalition with over $1 trillion in assets under management. MIDI engages Midwest companies facing board diversity shortfalls and encourages adoption of a diverse search policy often referred to as the “Rooney Rule.”
  • Since launching in 2016, MIDI has conducted 75 company engagements, and 51 companies have committed to adopting the Rooney Rule. In addition, 95 women and people of color have gained corporate board seats following engagement.
• Thirty Percent Coalition — Since 2018, the Illinois Treasurer has been an active member of the Thirty Percent Coalition’s Board of Directors, a coalition committed to advancing women, including women of color, on public company boards.
  • As a leader of the Thirty Percent Coalition, the Illinois Treasurer and fellow investors have successfully engaged nearly 400 companies that have now appointed women to their boards.
• Russell 3000 disclosure on racial/ethnic board diversity — The Illinois Treasurer is leading a campaign launched in October 2020 that asks Russell 3000 companies to disclose the racial, ethnic, and gender composition of their boards in proxy statements.