Governance

The framework for governance of the Investment Management Board is outlined in statute.  It all starts, however, with the Investment Management Board’s mission.  By statute, the Investment Management Board is charged with investing all assets entrusted to it as a fiduciary in the best interest of the beneficiaries of those assets.  This fiduciary duty is one of the highest duties imposed upon an entity or individual under law.  Such a high duty demands a different framework than traditionally found in State government.  Thus, the Legislature found that the long-term nature of the investment process demanded an organizational stability that would best be achieved by an independent, apolitical and professional body (West Virginia Code §12-6-1a). 

Our mission is to exercise our best independent judgment in providing prudent and professional investment management for the exclusive benefit of the beneficiaries.

From a structural standpoint, it is important to note that the Investment Management Board is an “investment board.”  An investment board is an entity that manages assets for multiple categories of participants, which usually includes several defined benefit pension plans and miscellaneous other State participants such as workers’ compensation plans, rainy day funds, etc.  There are only a handful of such investment boards in the country.  The vast majority of public funds are single purpose entities with responsibility for managing assets AND liabilities for only one participant, whether at the state, county or municipal level.