Pension Fund earns $323 million in January, outperforming investment benchmarks over multiple time periods
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island’s pension fund earned $323 million from investments in the month of January, a 4.14 percent return that finished ahead of the fund’s benchmark which returned 3.60 percent. The positive performance was driven by the investments in the global stock market – mostly low fee index funds designed to provide long-term growth.
“Public servants who spend their careers deserve to know that their pensions will be there for them in retirement and taxpayers deserve to have their public pension systems managed responsibly,” said General Treasurer Seth Magaziner. “Our investment strategy is designed to provide long-term growth over time and stability when markets are challenging.”
In the 3-year period ending January 31, 2019 the fund also outperformed benchmarks earning an annualized return of 8.67 percent versus the plan benchmark return of 8.52 percent and a traditional 60 percent stock/40 percent bonds portfolio, which would have earned 7.81 percent.
As part of Treasurer Magaziner’s “Transparent Treasury” initiative, detailed information about the fund, including the Back to Basics investment strategy and performance, is published online at investments.treasury.ri.gov.