Benefits January 20, 2004

Proposal Allows Virginia Public Workers to Opt for DC Plan

January 20, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Government workers joining the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) after June 30, 2004 will be able to choose a defined contribution (DC) plan as their pension instead of the traditional defined benefit (DB) program, according to a measure introduced in the state legislature.
Reported by

HB 661 also authorizes the VRS to establish an amount that government employers in the state will contribute to the DC plan, according to the National Association of State Retirement Administrators.

Get more!  Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.

Similar plans for broad employee groups have been established in recent years in Florida (See A Cloud Over The Sunshine State ), Ohio, South Carolina , and Montana (See Montana Public Workers Shun DC Option ).

Hybrid plans, which feature a reduced defined benefit component coupled with mandatory participation in a defined contribution plan, have been installed since 1996 for many public employees in Washington state and for workers in Oregon who joined after last August. Indiana public employees and teachers have long participated in a hybrid plan.

Michigan is the only state to have closed off its defined benefit plan to new employees; since 1997, all new Michigan state workers are required to join a DC plan, according to the report. Since 1991, all new public school teachers in West Virginia have been limited to a defined contribution plan.

For more information about Virginia’s DC program, go to http://guest.vadcp.com/tl001/menu/frameset.asp .

Investing January 16, 2004

Hedge Funds Gained 1.83% in December

January 16, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Hedge funds gained an average of 1.83% in December, according to the HedgeFund.net-PerTrac Universes.
Reported by

The top 25% of hedge funds gained an average of 2.71%, while the bottom quarter gained an average of 0.40% for the month. Emerging Markets funds, the month’s top performing strategy, were up an average of 4.62% for December (38.46% YTD), while CTA/Managed Futures gained 3.69% (13.5% YTD) and Macro advanced 2.83% (24.78% YTD). By comparison, the S&P 500 gained 5.08% during the month. As it has been across the industry, Short Bias was the big loser for the month, giving back -2.15% (-13.16% YTD)

Based on the hedge funds that have reported December performance, the year-to-date average gain is 18.26%. However, the top 25% of hedge funds have gained 24.33% for the year-to-date, while the bottom 25% are up 6.03% over the same time period. By comparison, the S&P 500 has gained 26.38% since the beginning of the year.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan benefits news.

Hedge funds included in these calculations gained 0.89% on average during November. The top 25% of hedge funds gained 1.46% in November while the bottom 25% were ahead an average of 0.11% during the same period. HedgeFund.net-PerTrac Universes are a feature of PerTrac Online, a hedge fund analytics tool available to registered users of  HedgeFund.net ..

«