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Administration August 4, 2011
CT Fund Sees Highest Return in 23 Years
August 4, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Connecticut State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier announced that the state pension funds, known collectively as the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (CRPTF), will post an investment return, net of expenses, of roughly 21% for the 2011 fiscal year ending June 30.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
A press release said this robust performance was driven primarily by positioning the fund to take advantage of the energetic rebound of the domestic and emerging equities markets, adding $4.5 billion of market value to pension assets. With $1.2 billion in net benefit payments and fees for the period, the value of the CRPTF grew from $21.9 billion at the end of last fiscal year to $25.2 by the end of June 2011 – an increase of $3.3 billion.
Nappier reported that the 21% return is the highest achieved by the fund in twenty-three years, and reflects a continuation of the strong performance in 2010, when pension fund assets grew by $2.6 billion, producing a net increase in value of $1.5 billion.
“While there remain many challenges to our state, national and global economies,” Nappier stated in the announcement, “this record-setting performance is evidence of the strength of our pension funds and investment strategy, even during tough economic times.”
The announcement said the overall pension funds average 3, 5 and 8 year returns were 4.05%, 4.72%, 7.40%, respectively.
The CRPTF includes six state pension plans covering approximately 190,000 teachers, state and municipal employees, and eight trust funds that support academic programs, grants, and other initiatives throughout the state. As of June 30, 2011, the value of the two largest funds in the CRPTF, the Connecticut Teachers Retirement Fund and the State Employee Retirement Fund was $14.1 billion and $9 billion, respectively.