# Springfield Police & Fire Retirement

Springfield Police & Fire Retirement is a Pension Fund based in Springfield, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Springfield, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Springfield, MO, United States
- **Assets under management:** $700M - $750M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** springfieldmo.gov
- **Wikidata:** Q67604282

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Springfield Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement Plan serves sworn personnel in Missouri's third-largest city. The plan predates the modern pension ecosystem, providing retirement, death, and disability benefits to qualified members and survivors. Board oversight flows through a mix of finance professionals and city officials: President Justin Setser holds a senior role at Central Trust Company, Trustee Charles Cowherd is a partner at law firm Spencer Fane, and Mayor Ken McClure provides policy continuity from City Hall. Pension Administrator Tony Kelley, a former firefighter, bridges operations and beneficiary interests. Allocation strategy splits across three lanes. The plan holds a direct interest in Prudential's PRISA SA vehicle, giving it a core real estate position within a diversified core-plus open-end fund structure. On the alternatives side, commitments to EnTrust Capital Diversified Fund QP and Blackstone Alternative BPIF Nontax LP provide hedge fund and private-market beta without the operational burden of a dedicated alternatives team. This mix of open-end real estate, fund-of-hedge-funds exposure, and secondaries access mirrors the portfolio construction logic of municipal plans two to three times its size — a function of long-tenured board oversight rather than staff headcount. Operational structure reflects the constraints and conservatism typical of Missouri municipal pensions. No dedicated investment staff appear on public filings; the board sources and monitors allocations through external manager relationships rather than in-house origination. The structural differentiator is institutional posture within a sub-scale footprint. Most municipal plans under $1 billion operate with a single OCIO or a narrow roster of regional managers. Springfield Police & Fire instead replicates elements of the endowment model — direct real estate, alternatives exposure, and a board composition that includes trust-company and law-firm partners capable of evaluating commingled vehicle terms. Whether this model persists through the next generation of board turnover remains an open question.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Hedge Funds
- Secondaries & Special Situations

## People

- Justin Setser — Board President
- Charles B. Cowherd — Trustee
- Tony Kelley — Pension Administrator
- Ken McClure — Mayor

## Questions

### Who makes investment decisions for Springfield Police & Fire Retirement?

The Board of Trustees holds investment authority. President Justin Setser, a senior investment officer at Central Trust Company, leads a board that includes attorney Charles Cowherd of Spencer Fane and pension administrator Tony Kelley. The board evaluates and monitors external managers; no dedicated internal investment staff appear in public filings.

### Is the plan subject to ERISA?

No. As a governmental plan, Springfield Police Officers and Firefighters Retirement Plan operates outside the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. It follows Missouri state statutes governing municipal police and fire pension systems.

### What alternative investment managers does the fund use?

Public records show commitments to EnTrust Capital Diversified Fund QP Ltd and Blackstone Alternative BPIF Nontax LP, both fund-of-hedge-funds vehicles. The plan also holds Prudential PRISA SA for core-plus real estate exposure. This structure provides hedge fund and private-market access without requiring a large internal alternatives team.

### How does the plan handle real estate exposure?

The fund holds a direct interest in Prudential's PRISA SA vehicle, an open-end core diversified real estate fund. This approach gives the plan diversified commercial property exposure with daily valuation and liquidity terms that fit a pension fund of its scale.

### Is Springfield Police & Fire a single-employer or multi-employer plan?

It is a single-employer defined benefit plan — the City of Springfield is the sole plan sponsor. The plan covers sworn police officers and firefighters, not general municipal employees.

### What type of board oversees the fund?

The board blends finance and public-sector governance. President Justin Setser brings trust-company investment expertise, Charles Cowherd contributes legal and fiduciary oversight as a Spencer Fane partner, Mayor Ken McClure provides city-level policy continuity, and Tony Kelley — a former firefighter — administers the plan day-to-day. This composition places professional investment scrutiny alongside beneficiary and municipal representation.

## Related profiles

- [The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida](https://altss.com/profile/the-community-foundation-for-northeast-florida)
- [Community Foundation for Greater New Haven](https://altss.com/profile/community-foundation-for-greater-new-haven)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/city-of-springfield

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