At special meeting of the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System (MOSERS) Board of Trustees, on Thursday, March 2, members unanimously passed Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick’s motion to prevent the future acquisition of Russian holdings and calling on the plan to divest any current holdings prudently.

Treasurer Fitzpatrick says, “Today the MOSERS Board of Trustees sent a clear message to Vladimir Putin: That his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine will not go unchecked, and the world will remain united in crippling his economy and his political future. The MOSERS Board, the people of Missouri and all Americans stand with the Ukrainian people.”

Text of the Treasurer’s motion is as follows: “Effective March 3, 2022, the system shall not (1) invest directly in securities issued by the Russian government, Russian-government affiliated entities, or Russian domiciled entities; or (2) engage investment managers who have discretion to direct the system’s assets into investments in the Russian government, Russian-government affiliated entities, or Russian domiciled entities. Existing investments subject to this provision, shall be divested at the earliest prudent opportunity.”