October 2, 2024
Public Safety Personnel Retirement System
State of Arizona
Contact: Christian Palmer
Phone: 602-296-3736
PSPRS Administrator and Chief Investment Officer Honored
Press awards earned by Mike Townsend and Mark Steed
Administrator Townsend earned his second Arizona Capitol Times’ Leaders of the Year award for the results delivered by his continued employer education campaign in 2024. Townsend was selected from five nominees at a September luncheon attended by state lawmakers, state agency directors and local lobbyists. He previously won in 2021.
The Arizona Capitol Times is a longstanding weekly news outlet that covers state government. The award, recognizes those “who advance the interest of the people of Arizona, work tirelessly and sincerely for the common good,” and “successfully navigated many challenges, persevered and collectively helped Arizona to move forward.”
At the same time, Chief Investment Officer Mark Steed was named Public Pension Plan Chief Investment Officer of the Year by Institutional Investor magazine, which also awarded Steed Innovator of the Year in 2023.
“Steed was nominated for his devotion to innovation, using machine learning, big data, and coding to inform his investment process and has consistently posted strong results at PSPRS,” wrote Institutional Investor, who vetted finalists before putting the award up for voting by staff of pension funds, endowments, family offices, foundations, healthcare funds and sovereign wealth funds.
“We’re always pleased to share positive news with our membership and our employers,” said PSPRS Board of Trustees Chairman Scott McCarty. “Our staff at all levels is committed to sound pension and investment management and these nominations and awards reflect that.”