Government Retirement Plans See Investment Increase in Q4 2011
Total holdings and investments went up 3.2% from last quarter to $2.6 trillion. However, there was a year-to-year decrease of 1.1% from $2.6 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2010, breaking the continuous trend of year-to-year increases after eight consecutive quarters. Earnings on investments totaled $97.1 billion, showing gains after last quarter’s losses of $198.8 billion. Compared with the same quarter one year ago, earnings on investments were down 28.5%.
Corporate Stocks
Holdings of corporate stocks quarter-to-quarter increased 7% to $822.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, up after two consecutive quarters of declines. Corporate stocks year-to-year were down 7% from $884.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. Corporate stocks comprised less than a third (31.5%) of the total cash and security holdings of major public employee retirement systems for the current quarter.
Corporate Bonds
Corporate bonds quarter-to-quarter remained flat at $399.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, after two consecutive quarters of declines. Corporate bonds year-to-year decreased 7.8% from $433.7 billion in the fourth quarter 2010. Corporate bonds comprised just under a sixth (15.3%) of the total cash and security holdings of major public employee retirement systems for the current quarter.
International Securities
International securities quarter-to-quarter increased 5.4% to $472.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, after having decreased last quarter by 14.3%. International securities year-to-year decreased 5.6% from $500.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. This was the second consecutive quarter of year-to-year decreases. International securities comprised more than a sixth (18.1%) of the total cash and security holdings of major public employee retirement systems for the current quarter.
Federal Government Securities
Federal government securities quarter-to-quarter increased 0.7% to $178.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011 and year-to-year increased 5.4% from $169.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. This was the ninth consecutive quarter with a year-to-year increase. Federal government securities comprised 6.8% of the total cash and security holdings for the current quarter.
Total Contributions and Payments
Employee contributions quarter-to-quarter increased 27% to $9.2 billion and year-to-year decreased 3.2% from $9.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. Government contributions quarter-to-quarter increased 19.3% to $21.5 billion and year-to-year decreased 4% from $22.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2010. Total payments quarter-to-quarter decreased 3.4% to $50.2 billion and year-to-year increased 0.1% from the fourth quarter of 2010.