23-38.80 - Standard of care; investment and administration of Plan.
§ 23-38.80. Standard of care; investment and administration of Plan.
A. In acquiring, investing, reinvesting, exchanging, retaining, selling, andmanaging property for the benefit of the Plan, the Board, and any person,investment manager, or committee to whom the Board delegates any of itsinvestment authority, shall act as trustee and shall exercise the judgment ofcare under the circumstances then prevailing, which persons of prudence,discretion, and intelligence exercise in the management of their own affairs,not in regard to speculation but to the permanent disposition of funds,considering the probable income as well as the probable safety of theircapital. If the annual accounting and audit required by § 23-38.85 revealthat there are insufficient funds to ensure the actuarial soundness of thePlan, the Board shall be authorized to adjust the terms of subsequent prepaidtuition contracts, arrange refunds for current purchasers to ensure actuarialsoundness, or take such other action the Board deems appropriate.
B. The assets of the Plan shall be preserved, invested, and expended solelypursuant to and for the purposes of this chapter and shall not be loaned orotherwise transferred or used by the Commonwealth for any other purpose.Within the standard prescribed in subsection A of this section, the Board,and any person, investment manager, or committee to whom the Board delegatesany of its investment authority, is authorized to acquire and retain everykind of property and every kind of investment, specifically including but notlimited to (i) debentures and other corporate obligations of foreign ordomestic corporations; (ii) common or preferred stocks traded on foreign ordomestic stock exchanges; (iii) not less than all of the stock or 100 percentownership of a corporation or other entity organized by the Board under thelaws of the Commonwealth for the purposes of acquiring and retaining realproperty that the Board is authorized under this chapter to acquire andretain; and (iv) securities of any open-end or closed-end management typeinvestment company or investment trust registered under the federalInvestment Company Act of 1940, as amended, including such investmentcompanies or investment trusts which, in turn, invest in the securities ofsuch investment companies or investment trusts, which persons of prudence,discretion, and intelligence acquire or retain for their own account. Withinthe limitations of the foregoing standard, the Board may retain propertyproperly acquired, without time limitation and without regard to itssuitability for original purchase. This section shall not be construed toprohibit the investment of the Plan, by purchase or otherwise, in bonds,notes, or other obligations of the Commonwealth or its agencies andinstrumentalities.
All provisions of this subsection shall apply to the portion of the Planassets attributable to savings trust account contributions and the earningsthereon.
C. The selection of services related to the operation and administration ofthe Plan, including, but not limited to, contracts or agreements for themanagement, purchase, or sale of authorized investments or actuarial,record-keeping, or consulting services, shall be governed by the foregoingstandard and shall not be subject to the provisions of the Virginia PublicProcurement Act (§ 2.2-4300 et seq.).
D. No Board member nor any person, investment manager, or committee to whomthe Board delegates any of its investment authority who acts within thestandard of care set forth in subsection A shall be held personally liablefor losses suffered by the Plan on investments made pursuant to this chapter.
E. To the extent necessary to lawfully administer the Plan and in order tocomply with federal, state, and local tax reporting requirements, the Planmay obtain all necessary social security account or tax identificationnumbers.
(1994, c. 661; 1996, c. 508; 1997, cc. 785, 861; 1999, cc. 485, 518; 2000,cc. 382, 400; 2009, cc. 827, 845.)