Walker, 092691 MSAGO, 19910926

• Case Date: September 26, 1991
• Court: Mississippi

Dr. Milton G. Walker No. 19910926 Mississippi Attorney General Opinions September 26, 1991          Dr. Milton G. Walker          Executive Director          Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi          429 Mississippi Street          Jackson, Mississippi 39201-1005          Dear Dr. Walker:          Attorney General Mike Moore has received your letter of request and has assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter states:

The Government Employees' Deferred Compensation Plan for the State of Mississippi, as administered by the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System, presently offers a number of investment options. Section 25-14-9 provides: Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi or the appropriate officer of a county, municipality, or other subdivision designated to administer a deferred compensation program is hereby authorized to invest the monies held pursuant to a deferred compensation program in fixed and variable life insurance or annuity contracts; or to purchase any investment authorized for purchase by the Public Employees' Retirement System of Mississippi under Section 25-11-121, Mississippi Code of 1972; or to invest such monies in a fund or funds maintained by a corporate trustee, which funds or funds are used as an investment media for retirement, pension or profit sharing plans that are tax qualified for such purpose. (Emphasis added) One of the existing investment alternatives used in the plan is a separately-manages indexed fixed income (bond) fund managed by Lehman Ark Management Co., Inc. The Board is desirous of seeking other alternatives for providing this type of investment alternative. In particular, one of the existing fixed income managers employed by the Board of Directors of the Public Employees' Retirement System is Wells Fargo-Nikko Investment Advisors. Wells Fargo Institutional Trust Company, N.A., is a nationally chartered trust company for whom Wells Fargo-Nikko Investment Advisors is retained as investment advisor. Pursuant to the authority to invest monies of the Deferred Compensation Plan in a fund or funds maintained by a corporate trustee, which fund or funds are used as an investment media for retirement, pension or profit sharing plans that are tax qualified for such purpose, the Board desires your official opinion as to whether a collective investment fund for employee benefit trusts offered by

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