FAQs

Based on information obtained from PSERS, you are or have been a PSERS Plan Participant in PSERS Class T-E, Class T-F, Class T-G, or Class T-H and the percentage of mandatory contributions withheld from your salary increased for some or all of the period between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2024.

This Notice explains that the Court has allowed, or "certified," a class action lawsuit that may affect you. You have legal rights and options that you must exercise prior to August 8, 2025. The Hon. Michael E. Erdos of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the Judge overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is titled Steinke, et al. v. Aon Investments USA, Inc., et al., Case No. 210601197, Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.

The lawsuit alleges that each Defendant - a professional investment advisor and consultant - agreed to assume fiduciary duties to PSERS Plan participants to review, vet, recommend, and monitor prudent investments for the PSERS Plan yet failed to do so. It is alleged that with Defendants' input and recommendations, the PSERS Plan invested Plan Participants' retirement funds in a portfolio of high-cost, risky, and illiquid investments that achieved poor results. The lawsuit further claims that in making their investment recommendations, Defendants ignored or were unaware of a Pennsylvania law that requires certain PSERS Plan participants to pay an increased percentage of contributions from their salaries if the Plan fails to achieve a statutorily prescribed rate of investment return. Because the Plan failed to achieve that rate of return, Plan Participants in PSERS Class T-E, Class T-F, Class T-G, and Class T-H were required to contribute a higher percentage of their salaries from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024, without receiving any additional benefit in return. The lawsuit seeks damages and certain equitable relief based on breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract claims against each Defendant.

Each Defendant denies all Plaintiffs' claims and contends that it was improper to certify this case as a class action. Two of the Defendants, Portfolio Advisors and Hamilton Lane, have reached Proposed Settlements with the Class, which this Court must finally approve before any Settlement funds will be available.

The Court has entered an Order preliminarily approving the Proposed Settlements with both Defendant Hamilton Lane and Defendant Portfolio Advisors.

Under the terms of the proposed Portfolio Advisors Settlement, Portfolio Advisors will pay a total amount of Eleven Million Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($11,250,000) into a Settlement fund. In exchange, the Plaintiffs and Class Members will release all claims, known and unknown, asserted and unasserted, against Portfolio Advisors arising from Portfolio Advisors' engagement by PSERS.

Under the terms of the proposed Hamilton Lane Settlement, Hamilton Lane will pay a total amount of Four Million Dollars ($4,000,000) into the Settlement fund. In exchange, the Plaintiffs and Class Members will release all claims, known and unknown, asserted and unasserted, against Hamilton Lane arising from Hamilton Lane's engagement by PSERS.

There are expected to be about 176,109 Class Members. Class Members will receive a pro rata share of the Settlement proceeds based on the increase in their contributions resulting from the mandatory percentage increase of their PSERS contributions made between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2024. Class Members' pro rata shares will be calculated after Class Counsel's attorneys' fees and costs and payments to the Class Representatives have been distributed from the Settlement proceeds.

The Proposed Settlement with Portfolio Advisors provides that Class Counsel will ask the Court for, and Portfolio Advisors will not object to, an attorneys' fee award of 1/3 of the value of the Settlement, and also for reimbursement of Class Counsel's costs and expenses, to be deducted from the $11.25 million contributed by Portfolio Advisors to the Settlement fund. The Proposed Settlement with Hamilton Lane provides that Class Counsel will ask the Court for, and Hamilton Lane will not object to, an attorneys' fee award of 1/3 of the value of the Settlement, and also for reimbursement of Class Counsel's costs and expenses, to be deducted from the $4 million contributed by Hamilton Lane to the Settlement fund. Class Counsel have made this request, and the Court has preliminarily approved that Class Counsel be awarded $3,750,000 in attorneys' fees from the Settlement with Portfolio Advisors and $1,333,333.33 in attorneys' fees from the Settlement with Hamilton Lane, and the Court has preliminarily approved that Class Counsel be reimbursed a total of $512,331.55 from the Settlement fund for the costs and expenses incurred. These fees, costs, and expenses are for the time and expenses Class Counsel has incurred in connection with their representation of the Class Members.

Class Representatives Kevin Steinke, Louis Fantini, Emily Fantini, and Daniel Reyes will each receive a reasonable service fee for time and effort in service of the Class Members. Class Counsel has requested, and the Court has preliminarily approved, a service fee (1) in the amount of $5,000 for each of these four individuals from the Portfolio Advisors Settlement and (2) in the amount of $5,000 for each of these four individuals from the Hamilton Lane Settlement.

The Plaintiffs are asking for damages in the form of money payments to each Class Member to compensate for the increased percentage of mandatory contributions from their salary from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024, plus other damages, restitution, and accounting, disgorgement, consequential damages, lost investment returns, exemplary damages, equitable relief, injunctive relief, surcharge, interest, attorneys' fees, and costs of suit.

There are many issues that the Court has not decided. By establishing the Class and issuing a Notice, the Court is not suggesting which side will win or lose on the remaining issues. The Plaintiffs must still prove their claims.

No money or other benefits will be available until the Court gives final approval of the Proposed Settlements reached between the Plaintiffs and Defendant Portfolio Advisors, and the Plaintiffs and Defendant Hamilton Lane, and determines if the Settlements are fair and reasonable. The Court has not decided whether any of the Defendants did anything wrong.

You need to decide whether you are affected by this lawsuit. The Court has certified a Class that includes:

• All members of PSERS membership Class T-E who experienced withholdings of their salary (or otherwise made contributions) to the Plan at a rate of 8.00% of their salary at any time between July 1, 2021, and June 30,2024; and

• All members of PSERS membership Class T-F who experienced withholdings of their salary (or otherwise made contributions) to the Plan at a rate of 10.80% of their salary at any time between July 1, 2021, and June 30,2024; and

• All members of PSERS membership Class T-G who experienced withholdings of their salary (or otherwise made contributions) to the Plan at a rate of 6.25% of their salary to the portion of the Plan operated like a Defined Benefit Plan, at any time between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2024; and

• All members of PSERS membership Class T-H who experienced withholdings of their salary (or otherwise made contributions) to the Plan at a rate of 5.25% of their salary to the portion of the Plan operated like a Defined Benefit Plan, at any time between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2024.

If you are unsure whether you are included in the Class, please visit the Contact Us page to reach out to the PSERS Shared Risk Class Action Settlement Administrator.

If you want to retain the right to receive a share of any settlement approved by the Court with Portfolio Advisors or Hamilton Lane, and to potentially receive money or other benefits from this lawsuit, you don't have to do anything now.

By doing nothing, you are staying in the Class. If you remain in the Class and the Plaintiffs obtain money or other benefits, you will obtain a share. If the Defendants who do not reach a settlement win, you will receive nothing from them.

Keep in mind that if you do nothing now, regardless of whether the Plaintiffs win the trial, you will not be able to sue or continue to sue Defendants - as part of any other lawsuit - about the same issues that are the subject of this lawsuit. This means that with respect to all issues in this case, if you do nothing, you will be legally bound by all the orders the Court issues and judgments the Court makes in this class action.

You can ask to be excluded from this class action for any reason. One reason you may choose to exclude yourself is if you already have your own lawsuit against Aon Investments USA, Inc., Portfolio Advisors LLC, Hamilton Lane Advisors, L.L.C., and/or Aksia LLC and want to continue with it. In that event, you need to ask to be excluded from the Class. If you exclude yourself from the Class - which also means to remove yourself from the Class and is sometimes called "opting out" - you will not get any money or other benefits from this lawsuit, even if the Plaintiffs obtain them. However, by excluding yourself, you keep the right to sue Aon Investments USA, Inc., Portfolio Advisors LLC, Hamilton Lane Advisors, L.L.C., and/or Aksia LLC regarding the issues presented in this lawsuit, and you will not be legally bound by the Court's orders and judgments in this class action.

If you start your own lawsuit against Defendants after you exclude yourself, you will have to either represent yourself or hire and pay your own lawyer for that lawsuit. If you do exclude yourself, you should talk to your own lawyer soon, because your claims may be limited by time and subject to a statute of limitations. Only a lawyer you hire can tell you about the statute of limitations on your claim. Once the statute of limitations has expired, you cannot successfully bring a claim, even if the claim had merit.

To be excluded, you must send an "Exclusion Request" in the form of a letter sent by mail, stating that you want to be excluded from Steinke, et al. v. Aon Investments USA, Inc., et al. Be sure to include your name, and address and sign the letter. You must mail your Exclusion Request postmarked by August 8, 2025, to: PSERS Shared Risk Class Action Settlement Administrator at:

PSERS Shared Risk Class Action Settlement Administrator
c/o A.B. Data, Ltd.
P.O. Box 173101
Milwaukee, WI 53217

Alternatively, you can complete an Exclusion Request Form and submit it by August 8, 2025. Your Exclusion Request submitted by email is not effective until you receive an email confirmation from A.B. Data.

Yes. You may exclude yourself from the Settlements by opting out of the Class as described HERE. If you wish to opt out of the Class, you will not receive any compensation from the Portfolio Advisors Settlement, the Hamilton Lane Settlement, or any future recoveries. If you wish to opt out, you must take action to exclude yourself from the Class Action. You must do this by either: (1) sending a written Exclusion Request letter by U.S. Mail; or (2) excluding yourself by completing an Exclusion Request before the deadline on August 8, 2025.

If you have an objection to the terms of the settlement with Portfolio Advisors and/or the settlement with Hamilton Lane, you should mail a written objection postmarked by August 8, 2025, to: PSERS Shared Risk Class Action Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 173101, Milwaukee, WI 53217. Your written objection should contain the following information:

• Full name, email address, and telephone number;
• An explanation of the basis upon which you claim to be a Class Member;
• All grounds for the objection, including any known legal support for the objection;
• The number of times you have objected to a class action settlement in the past five years and the caption of each case in which you filed an objection;
• The identity of any and all counsel representing you;
• A statement confirming whether you intend to appear and/or testify at the hearing (along with disclosure of all testifying witnesses); and
• Your signature (not just your attorney’s signature)

The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing with respect to the Settlements with Portfolio Advisors and/or Hamilton Lane for September 11, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. via Zoom. You may, but are not required to, attend that hearing.

The Court has ruled that the law firms of Mantese Honigman, P.C., Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig LLP, and J.J. Conway Law, P.C. are qualified to represent the Class. Together they are called "Class Counsel." They are experienced in handling similar class action cases. More information about these attorneys, their practices, and their experience is available at www.manteselaw.com, www.feldmanshepherd.com, and www.conwaylaw.com.

You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. But, if you want your own lawyer, you will have to pay that lawyer. For example, you can ask him or her to appear in Court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak for you.

Class Counsel will only be paid if they are successful in obtaining money or other benefits for the Class. If Class Counsel are successful, they will ask the Court to award them their fees and expenses. You won't have to pay these fees and expenses out of your own pocket. If the Court grants Class Counsel's request, the fees and expenses would be deducted from any money obtained for the Class.

If the case is not resolved against each Defendant by a settlement, the Court will decide who is right by pretrial rulings and/or trial. If the case proceeds to trial, Class Counsel will have to prove Plaintiffs' claims at trial. The trial will be in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania, located at 1400 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107. No trial date has been set yet. During the trial, a jury will hear all the evidence to help them reach a decision about whether the Plaintiffs or Defendants are right about the claims in this lawsuit. There is no guarantee that the Plaintiffs will win or that they will get any money for the Class.                                                                                          

You do not need to attend the trial. Class Counsel will present the case for the Plaintiffs, and the Defendants remaining in the case at that time will present their defenses. You or your own lawyer are welcome to come and observe at your own expense.

If you want more detailed information, please visit the Contact Us page to reach out to the PSERS Shared Risk Class Action Settlement Administrator.

Please do not contact the Court, as the Judge and his staff will not be able to speak with you. Please do not contact PSERS about this case, as they cannot advise you about your rights.

Please also do not call the lawyers for Defendants unless you have opted out or excluded yourself from the lawsuit. The ethical rules provide that they may not speak to you while you are represented by Class Counsel.