TEXPERS building online learning series

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By ALLEN JONES/TEXPERS Communications Manager

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the respiratory illness that causes COVID-19, has adversely impacted TEXPERS' ability to host its Annual Conference and Educational Forum this year. However, the association's staff is lining up online events offering members the ability to develop their professional skills and earn credit for their state-mandated training hours.

TEXPERS' board of directors announced in June that the association canceled its Annual Conference in San Antonio due to social distancing restrictions. The board and staff recognized that although it could not hold an in-person event, association members still need to fulfill state-mandated training. The staff has developed a series of online seminars as a practical and free alternative for system member trustees and administrators to continue their education.

As an Accredited Sponsor of the Pension Review Board of Texas, TEXPERS is providing credit hours of training to pension plan trustees and administrators. Several sessions formerly to be held during the Annual Conference have been reconfigured for online presentations that allow first-year and continuing trustees and administrators to earn credit hours.

New and Continuing Trustees and Administrators may earn 1 credit hour per designated webinar. Each online session is lead by pension or investment industry experts. 

To earn a credit hour, attendees are required to sit through an entire presentation, participate in polling questions during the session, and answer a survey after the webinar. A code will appear on the screen after each webinar and attendees will need to provide it in the survey as proof that they sat through the session to the end.

Online sessions took place in May and July, and three more are coming up in September. The association staff is busy putting together additional educational programming through November.

Upcoming Online Learning

Webinar | Real Estate - Benefits of Combining Public and Private Allocations 
Presented by Janus Henderson Investors
10 a.m. CST on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020
Qualifies for 1 credit hour for Basic or Advanced Trustee Training in Investments.

Webinar | Taking Stock of Your Advisory Relationship: Outsource CIO, Consultants, and the Market
Presented by PFM LLC, PNC Capital Advisors, & CBIZ Inc.
10 a.m. CST on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020
Qualifies for 1 credit hour for Basic or Advanced Trustee Training in Investments.

Webinar | (Topic to be Determined)
Presented by HPS Investment Partners
10 a.m. CST on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020
Qualifies for 1 credit hour for Basic or Advanced Trustee Training in Investments.

Registration Information

Active links above mean a webinar is open for registration. TEXPERS will email registration details for future webinars to system members as they become available. Also, the association's website, blog, and social media pages will be updated with links to sign up for each online session.

Mandated Training Hours

Texas law requires the Pension Review Board to establish a Minimum Educational Training Program for trustees and system administrators of state and local public retirement systems. The PRB's Minimum Educational Training requirements include core and non-core topic areas. New trustees and administrators must earn a minimum of 7 hours of training within their first year of service. Continuing trustees and administrators must receive a minimum of 4 hours of training every two years after their first year of service. 

TEXPERS is offering credit training hours for core and non-core topics. New trustees and administrators needing additional first-year training may do so online through the PRB's website.

>ADDITIONAL TRAINING: Pension Review Board MET Info

Webinar Replays

In May, TEXPERS hosted Controlled Acceleration: Using Derivatives to Manage Pension Plan Risk, Return & Liquidity. Sponsored by TEXPERS Consultant Member River and Mercantile, the webinar is accessible through the association's blog.

>WEBINAR REPLAY: Controlled Acceleration

In July, TEXPERS hosted COVID-19: Impact on a Pension Plan's Liquidity. Also sponsored by TEXPERS Consultant Member River and Mercantile, a replay of the webinar is accessible through the association's blog.

>WEBINAR REPLAY: Impact of COVID-19 on Liquidity

Pension system trustees and administrators cannot receive credit hours for watching the replays. The replays are for on-demand professional development purposes only.

Membership Matters

TEXPERS has spent three decades providing high-quality training for its members, expanding awareness of public pension issues, and advocating for the promised benefits of public employees. TEXPERS' staff and board members are proud to offer trustees and administrators new ways to build their pension knowledge, which make its members more valuable to their funds and stakeholders.

Not a member of TEXPERS? Any Texas public employee retirement system and employee group or association is eligible for a TEXPERS membership immediately. Consultants, actuaries and vendors also are welcome to join at any time, however those applications will require approvals. For TEXPERS' Associate Memberships, there are a limited number of openings available. Once an application has been approved and an opening has become available, a TEXPERS staff member will follow up.

> JOIN TEXPERS: Membership information

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