New Jersey Division of Investment, Trenton, posted a 21% total return...

New Jersey Division of Investment, Trenton, posted a 21% total return on its equity portfolio in 2003, helping the fund stop several years of steep declines and boosting assets by $9 billion to $67 billion. John McCormac, state treasurer, said that while the return was good on an absolute level, "I need to see how that stacks up to the risk-adjusted rate and to same-sized public pension funds." He said such analysis is typically completed 45 to 60 days after the end of a quarter. "Twenty-one percent is good news, but it's not something we can fully react to yet," he said. "If everybody else made 31, then I'm not happy." He added the fund's actuarial rate of return is 8.75%.