1947
First Investment
First investment approved – $200k in U.S. Treasury Bonds, Series G & H.
1955
First Custodian
National Bank of Commerce in New Orleans selected as the first custodian.
1966
Certificates of Deposit & Corporate Bonds
First investment in certificates of deposit ($100m) and corporate bonds ($3m par value of AT&T).
1968
Equities
First investment in equities of $1m. Stocks included AT&T, GE, GM, Eastman Kodak, Union Carbide, and Standard Oil.
1970
High Yield Bonds
Invested in high yield bonds.
1974
First Consultant
Boston Company of Louisville, KY hired as first consultant.
1976
Policy Adopted
First formal Investment Policy adopted.
1982
Money Managers
Assets reached $1 Billion.
First money managers hired.
1986
In-House Investments
In-house structured investment program approved.
1988
Asset Allocation Adopted
Asset allocation adopted: 60% debt, 35% equity, 5% real estate
1990
Assumption Rate
Investment assumption rate changed to 8.25%. First International Equity managers hired.
1993
NEPC, LLC
NEPC, LLC, hired as Investment Consultant and remains today.
1995
First Workshop
First Investment Workshop held for the Board of Trustees.
1999
Internal Management
Internally managed program began with S&P 500 Index Fund.
2001
Chief Investment Officer
Bobby Beale became LASERS Chief Investment Officer.
2002
Investment Report
LASERS first Annual Investment Report was published in 2002.
2005
New Custodian Bank
BNY Mellon hired as Custodian Bank and remains today.
2013
Asset Growth
LASERS assets exceed $10 Billion.
2014
Assistant Chief Investment Officers
Darren Fournerat and Laney Sanders became Co-Assistant CIOs.
2017
CFA / CAIA Designations
Majority of Investment staff hold both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations.
2020
Assets Exceed $12 Billion
NASDAQ 100 Index added to internally-managed program.
LASERS assets exceed $12 Billion.
2021
Highest Investment Return
LASERS reported a 35.6% investment return for the 12-month period that ended June 30, 2021, the highest return in the history of the System.
Total market value of assets stand in excess of $14.7 billion.
Asset Growth
as of June 30 Fiscal Year-End
| 1946 | $1.1 Million |
| 1968 |
$220 Million |
| 1992 | $2.88 Billion |
| 2002 |
$5.56 Billion |
| 2008 | $8.68 Billion |
| 2010 | $7.68 Billion |
| 2019 | $11.55 Billion |
| 2020 | $10.66 Billion |
| Dec 2020 |
$12.3 Billion |
Learn More
Click on the buttons below to view additional investment information.