Updated:
Montana Game Wardens' and Peace Officers' Retirement System
The Montana Game Wardens' and Peace Officers' Retirement System (GWPORS) is a defined-benefit public pension fund created by state statute to provide...
Montana Game Wardens' and Peace Officers' Retirement System
The Montana Game Wardens' and Peace Officers' Retirement System (GWPORS) is a defined-benefit public pension fund created by state statute to provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to Montana's conservation officers, highway patrol troopers, and other sworn peace officers. It operates as one of nine retirement systems governed by the Montana Public Employees' Retirement Board (PERB). Rather than employing a dedicated internal investment staff of its own, GWPORS relies on the Montana Board of Investments (MBOI) to execute its investment strategy, pooling its assets alongside other state trusts in the Consolidated Asset Pension Pool (CAPP). MBOI manages GWPORS assets through its CAPP portfolio, a commingled vehicle that allocates across public equities, core and non-core fixed income, private equity, real estate, and infrastructure. The fund also maintains a separate real assets portfolio and holds liquidity in the Short-Term Investment Pool (STIP), a state-managed cash vehicle. The internal-management model is anchored by Executive Director Dan Villa and CIO Jon Putnam, who report to a board that includes Maggie Peterson, a dual board member representing public employees on both the MBOI and PERB boards. The precise asset allocation or total AUM of GWPORS as a standalone pool is not publicly itemized; the MBOI reports aggregated CAPP figures that encompass multiple retirement systems. Montana's transparent governance structure subjects all board meetings and investment guidelines to public record, but line-item breakdowns by individual pension plan are not published. MBOI has historically favored direct, internally managed portfolios with limited external consultant usage. GWPORS exemplifies the consolidated public-pension model: a single investment office serving multiple distinct member bases without separate investment committees or external CIOs. This structure concentrates fiduciary authority in the MBOI board, which sets asset-allocation policy for all participating systems. For GWPORS, this means the investment posture — from private equity pacing to real-asset exposure — is determined at the state-aggregate level, not tailored to the specific liability profiles of game wardens versus peace officers.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Helena
Corporate office
Helena, MT, United States
Principals
Dan Villa
Executive Director, Montana Board of Investments
Jon Putnam
Chief Investment Officer, Montana Board of Investments
Maggie Peterson
Board Member, Montana Public Employees' Retirement Board
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes the investment decisions for GWPORS?
The Montana Board of Investments (MBOI), led by Executive Director Dan Villa and CIO Jon Putnam, executes all investment decisions. GWPORS does not have its own separate investment committee. The Public Employees' Retirement Board (PERB) provides governing oversight, and board member Maggie Peterson sits on both the MBOI and PERB boards, bridging the two bodies. All investment activity is subject to Montana open-meeting and public-record laws.
How are GWPORS assets invested?
GWPORS assets are pooled in the Consolidated Asset Pension Pool (CAPP), a commingled multi-asset vehicle managed internally by MBOI. CAPP allocates across public equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, and infrastructure. GWPORS also participates in a dedicated real assets portfolio and maintains operating liquidity through the state's Short-Term Investment Pool (STIP).
Is GWPORS a standalone fund, or is it combined with other state retirement plans?
GWPORS is a legally distinct retirement system with its own member base and benefit formula, but its investment assets are commingled with those of eight other Montana public retirement systems inside the CAPP structure. All systems share the same investment returns and fee structure, with MBOI managing the pooled capital as a single portfolio. Standalone AUM for GWPORS is not publicly reported.
Does GWPORS use external fund managers?
Montana's Board of Investments historically favors an internal-management model. The majority of CAPP's public-market and fixed-income assets are managed by MBOI staff without external managers. In private equity and real assets, MBOI may invest through fund commitments or direct co-investments, but the state emphasizes cost efficiency and has a lower external-manager footprint than many similarly sized public pension funds.
What is the governance structure overseeing GWPORS?
Two boards share authority: the Public Employees' Retirement Board (PERB) administers GWPORS as a retirement plan, setting contribution rates and benefit policy, while the Montana Board of Investments (MBOI) controls all investment functions. This bifurcated structure means PERB cannot direct specific investments, and MBOI does not set benefit levels. Board meetings and investment actions are public record under Montana law.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on pension funds?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: