The Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System shall designate not less than three (3) nor more than five (5) companies to provide annuity contracts, mutual fund accounts or similar investment products, and the types of investment contracts or funds that may be offered by those companies. In making those designations, the board of trustees shall consider and be guided by:
The nature and extent of the rights and benefits to be provided by those contracts or accounts, or both, for participants and their beneficiaries;
The relation of those rights and benefits to the amount of contributions to be made;
The suitability of those rights and benefits to the needs of the participants;
The efficacy of the contracts or accounts, or both, in the recruitment and retention of faculty and administrators;
The ability and experience of the designated companies in providing those suitable rights and benefits under those contracts or accounts, or both; and
The ability and experience of the designated companies to provide both suitable participant investment guidance and investment options.
The companies shall act in a fiduciary capacity in selecting investment products that are suitable for the optional retirement program. It shall be the duty of the companies to report to and seek approval from the board for the investment products made available under this paragraph and to report the participant use of those options annually. The board reserves the right to refuse or discontinue any product offered by those companies.