RI Pension Fund Ends Fiscal Year at a Record High Asset Value Despite Challenging Markets
TREASURER SETH MAGAZINER
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Despite the unprecedented crisis experienced in global markets by COVID-19, the Rhode Island pension fund, driven by Treasurer Magaziner’s Back to Basics investment strategy, finished the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2020 with $8,469,750,816 in assets under management, a higher value than any previous Fiscal Year close in the state’s history.
The Rhode Island pension system outperformed 95% of U.S. pension plans in the first quarter of 2020 amid the COVID-19 market crisis, according to Investment Metrics, the leading source of investment performance analytics for institutional investors. This outperformance was largely due to the implementation of a Crisis Protection Class which earned 15.1% in the first quarter of 2020, a period in which global stock markets suffered double-digit declines.
Due to this strong performance, the fund quickly recovered from the market challenges experienced in the first quarter of 2020, returning 8.3% over the months of April, May and June.
Detailed information about the Rhode Island pension system, including the ‘Back to Basics’ investment strategy and performance can be found online as part of Treasurer Magaziner’s “Transparent Treasury” initiative at: investments.treasury.ri.gov
Note: All performance is reported on a “net of fees” basis.