Virginia Supplemental Retirement System

The Virginia Supplemental Retirement System provides additional retirement benefits to Virginia’s state and local government employees, managing approximately $8 billion in assets. Administered alongside the Virginia Retirement System (VRS), the supplemental system offers defined contribution and hybrid plan structures that complement the state’s primary defined benefit pension.

Investment Strategy

The Virginia Supplemental Retirement System maintains a diversified investment portfolio designed to provide long-term capital appreciation and income for its participants. The fund allocates across domestic and international equities, fixed income, real estate, and alternative investments. Asset allocation decisions are guided by actuarial assumptions and capital market forecasts, with periodic reviews to ensure alignment with participant needs and market conditions. The system leverages the broader investment infrastructure and expertise of the Virginia Retirement System’s investment team, benefiting from the scale and institutional knowledge of one of the larger state retirement operations in the country.

Private Markets Approach

The system’s alternatives allocation, representing approximately 10% of total assets, includes commitments to private equity and real estate strategies. In private equity, the fund participates through partnerships with established general partners focusing on buyout, growth equity, and credit strategies. The real estate program includes investments in commingled funds spanning core and value-add strategies, providing diversification and inflation-hedging characteristics. Given the supplemental system’s comparatively smaller scale, its private markets program is more concentrated than those of larger state pensions, with a focus on established managers and proven strategies. The system benefits from the investment team’s relationships and due diligence capabilities developed through the larger VRS platform.