Public Pensions & Investments Briefings

Ransomware and other cybersecurity attacks have made national headlines during the past 12 months, and public pension systems are as susceptible to these attacks as any other organization. In this episode of Public Pensions & Investments Briefings, Thomas Dover and Ashley Dunning discuss the protections public pension plans can put in place today to ensure these kinds of data privacy attacks are kept at bay. They also discuss other intellectual property issues every public pension plan administrator should be aware of in order to maintain the health of their organization.

Infrastructure investment, whether through direct investments in specific projects or through commingled funds, is an attractive asset class for public pension systems and other institutional investors. In this episode of Public Pensions & Investments Briefings, Yuliya Oryol, Andrée Blais and Shant Boyajian introduce you to public-private partnerships (P3s) and alternative delivery methods for infrastructure projects. In addition to P3 projects in the U.S., they also discuss other countries, such as Canada, that have a more developed and mature market for investing in infrastructure projects by public pension systems and other institutional investors. Yuliya, Andrée and Shant also discuss the Biden administration's infrastructure plan, which should open up investment opportunities for institutional investors.

All public pension plans need a well-crafted fiduciary liability insurance policy. This should include ample coverage, including protection against the risk of impending litigation. The recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in favor of the San Joaquin County Employees' Retirement Association (“SJCERA”) in its case against Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America (“Travelers”) highlights the importance of understanding what to include in your insurance policy. The court found that Travelers had been in breach of contract and granted declaratory relief arising out of Travelers' denial of coverage under the duty-to-defend clause in SJCERA's fiduciary liability insurance policy. In this episode of Public Pensions & Investments Briefings, Ashley Dunning and Jim Vorhis review this significant decision and explore what lessons may be drawn from that litigation as public retirement systems consider how to get the most out of their fiduciary liability and other insurance policies going forward.

In this episode of Public Pensions & Investments Briefings, Nossaman Public Pensions & Investments Group Partner Peter Mixon and Institutional Limited Partners Association Senior Policy Counsel Chris Hayes discuss what impact the Biden administration could have on public pensions. They explore how the new administration may alter investment regulations to align with their key policy initiatives, and how public pension plan investors should approach investing to ensure compliance.