Florida Retirement System Pension Plan, Tallahassee, lost 4.42% on its investments in the year ended June 30, underperforming its customized benchmark of -3.35%, according to a statement today by the Florida State Board of Administration, which oversees the $126.9 billion defined benefit fund.
The plan was 105% funded as of the same date, the statement said.
Its domestic equity portfolio returned -12.68%, less than one basis point better than its customized benchmark for domestic equity. For international equity, it returned -6.52%, beating its customized benchmark by 110 basis points.
Equity losses were offset somewhat by fixed income, which returned 5.1%, lagging the 7.12% of its customized benchmark; real estate, 8.69%, which also lagged its custom benchmark’s 17.41%; and private equity, 7.52%, surpassing the -8.19%return of its customized benchmark.
“The fund continues to be one of the strongest in the country,” Robert Milligan, FSBA’s interim executive director, said in the statement. “It is actuarially sound and contribution rates remain significantly below those which would be required if the fund were at the national average funding ratio of about 81%. This helps relieve pressure on participating governments throughout the state which are facing strained budgets.”
“When comparing Florida’s pension fund performance to other U.S. corporate and public pension plans, as reported by Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, Florida is ranked in the top half of the best performing pension plans over all reported time periods.” the statement said.
