Rosy Picture at CT State Pension Fund

February 19, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Connecticut State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier said Connecticut’s state pension fund saw assets grow by $2.7 billion over the first six months of fiscal year 2010.

According to a Nappier news release, the fund had assets of about $23 billion as of December 31, 2009. The improved performance results were driven by an economic recovery that led to a stabilized global outlook and significant gains in the global capital markets, Nappier said.

Nappier said that as investors regained confidence in credit-related markets, the fund was able to add an allocation to distressed debt by investing $200 million in the U.S. Treasury’s Public-Private Investment Program.  This investment was designed to generate strong risk-adjusted returns by investing in residential and commercial real estate markets at attractive values.

For the year ending December 31, 2009, the State Employees’ Retirement Fund (SERF), the Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TERF), and the Municipal Employees’ Retirement Fund (MERF) returned 20.20%, 19.93%, and 18.08%, respectively.  The fund’s fiscal year 2010, which starts July 1, 2009, and ends June 30, 2010, posted six months of performance through December 31, 2009, of 15.54% for SERF, 15.34% for TERF, and 13.46% for MERF. 

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