# St. Paul (Minn.) Teachers' Retirement Fund Association St. Paul (Minn.) Teachers' Retirement Fund Association is a Pension Fund based in St. Paul, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Pension Fund - **Headquarters:** St. Paul, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** St. Paul, MN, United States - **Founded:** 1909 - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **Website:** sptrfa.org ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About St. Paul (Minn.) Teachers' Retirement Fund Association traces its origin to a 1909 act of the Minnesota Legislature, created to provide defined-benefit pensions for public-school educators within Independent School District 625. Phil Tencick serves as both executive director and chief investment officer, reporting to a board of trustees currently led by President Lori Borgeson. The fund's liabilities extend across more than a century of accrued service credits, and its investment policy is governed by Minnesota statute, which sets the outer boundaries for asset-class exposure and fiduciary conduct. The portfolio is built around a core public-markets allocation managed primarily by the Minnesota State Board of Investment, which runs commingled pools for multiple state pension plans. SPTRFA layers private-market commitments on top of that base, with a heavy tilt toward real estate. The fund has invested through vehicles including AEW Core Property Trust, Principal US RE Securities, and the UBS Trumbull Fund, along with opportunistic positions in Dune Real Estate Partners funds and the PRISA III core-plus strategy. Co-investment occurs through SBI pooled structures and side-by-side institutional real estate vehicles, giving the fund access to deal flow without a large internal acquisitions team. SPTRFA is a lean organization relative to its mandate, relying on the State Board of Investment for public-markets execution and a board-level oversight model for private-market commitments. Board composition includes active and retired teachers, a school board representative, and a mayoral appointee, per the fund's enabling statute. Phil Tencick joined SPTRFA after serving as deputy executive director, and his combined ED/CIO role consolidates investment and administrative authority in a way that is common among mid-sized US public pension funds but rare among larger peers. SPTRFA's structural distinction lies in its dual-channel investment model: the SBI handles liquid markets at scale across multiple state funds, while SPTRFA retains targeted control over private-asset commitments that align with its specific liability profile. That hybrid—pension-fund-level discretion for illiquid sleeves layered atop a state-run liquid pool—gives the fund a cost-efficient core with satellite allocations tailored to its own board's conviction. ## Sectors - Real Estate - Private Equity - Venture Capital - Energy ## People - Phillip T. Tencick — Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer - Lori Borgeson — President of the Board of Trustees ## Questions ### Who runs investment decisions at SPTRFA? Phillip T. Tencick serves as both Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer, a combined role that concentrates investment authority under one executive. The Board of Trustees, chaired by Lori Borgeson, provides fiduciary oversight and approves manager commitments. Day-to-day public-market execution is delegated to the Minnesota State Board of Investment, which runs commingled portfolios for multiple Minnesota pension funds. ### How does SPTRFA's relationship with the Minnesota State Board of Investment work? SPTRFA invests a significant portion of its public-market assets through pooled funds managed by the Minnesota State Board of Investment. The SBI handles domestic and international equities, fixed income, and other liquid strategies for multiple state retirement systems, allowing SPTRFA to access institutional pricing and reduce internal staffing costs. SPTRFA retains direct control over private-market commitments, including real estate and energy partnerships. ### Which real estate managers does SPTRFA work with? Altss research identifies commitments to AEW Core Property Trust, Principal US RE Securities, the UBS Trumbull Fund, Dune Real Estate Partners (Dune III and Dune IV), and PRISA III. These span core, core-plus, and opportunistic strategies across commercial, residential, and mixed-use property types in the United States. ### How are board members selected for SPTRFA? Board composition is set by Minnesota statute. Trustees include active and retired teachers from the St. Paul Public Schools system, a representative from the school board, and a mayoral appointee. The structure ensures representation from plan participants, the employer, and municipal government in fiduciary oversight. ### Does SPTRFA make direct investments or only fund commitments? Based on available public filings, SPTRFA commits primarily through fund vehicles and pooled real estate structures rather than direct balance-sheet deals. Co-investment occurs via SBI-managed pools and shared institutional real estate vehicles like PRISA III, rather than through a standalone direct-investment program. ### What is SPTRFA's posture on energy investments? SPTRFA has allocated to energy through a commitment to Kimmeridge Energy II, a fund focused on upstream and energy-transition investments in North America. No additional energy managers have been disclosed, and the fund has not publicly articulated an energy-specific policy beyond what its general investment policy statement covers. ## Related profiles - [St. Mary's County OPEB Trust](https://altss.com/profile/st-mary-s-county-opeb-trust-opeb) - [Stanley Center for Peace and Security](https://altss.com/profile/stanley-center-for-peace-and-security) --- Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/st-paul-minn-teachers-retirement-system-sptrfa Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology