Administration October 29, 2007

Illinois Teachers' Fund Sees 19.6% Returns for Fiscal Year

October 29, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A new report shows that the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System saw a 19.6% gain from its investments at the fiscal year's end in June, the highest returns reaped by the pension fund in three decades, the Financial News reported.
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The $3.8 billion return was mostly driven by private equity and offshore investments, according to the news report. Pension assets for the teachers’ fund are now $41.9 billion. The figures were released by trustees of the retirement system.

Private equity, which accounts for 4.6% of the fund, outperformed all its other investments with a 31.3% return, while the fund’s international equity holdings generated a 30% return, real estate investments returned 26.2%, and domestic equities holdings returned 19.6%. Fixed income holdings, which only account for 19% of the fund, returned 6%.

According to the Financial News, the Illinois fund’s returns were in line with other large U.S. pension programs. The California Public Employees’ Retirement Fund saw 19.1% returns and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System returned 21%.

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