Returns at Alaska Permanent Fund Corp., Illinois State Universities Retirement System and Idaho Public Employee Retirement System for the year ended June 30 were the highest for each fund since 1986.
Alaska Permanent, Juneau, returned 20.6% for the fiscal year ended June 30, with a total asset value of $40.1 billion, according to an APFC news release.
U.S. equities had the highest return for the fiscal year at 33.4%, followed by global equities at 31.5%; international equities, 28.7%; real return, 17%; real estate, 16.9%; absolute return, 8%; U.S. fixed income, 5.3%; and international fixed income, 0.6%.“These are outstanding returns, especially in light of the challenges that markets faced during this time,” CEO Michael Burns said in the news release. “A sluggish economic recovery and continued unemployment, Greece and Ireland’s debt woes, political upheaval in the Middle East, Japan’s earthquake; yet despite all these hurdles, markets kept moving forward for most of the year.”
Alaska Permanent Fund spokeswoman Laura Achee could not be reached for further comment.
Illinois SURS’ defined benefit plan investments returned 23.8% for the fiscal year ended June 30, according to a statement from the Champaign-based system.
The return, which is net of investment management fees, outperformed its composite benchmark’s return of 23.4%.
In the previous fiscal year, ended June 30, 2010, the system returned 15%, underperforming the 16% return of its customized benchmark.
The system’s assets rose by $2.1 billion for the 12 months ended June 30, to $14.3 billion.
Over 25 years, ended June 30, the system returned an annualized 8.8%, outperforming its 7.75% assumed rate of return.
“The continuing challenge to SURS remains the funding status of the plan,” the statement said. The system was about 45% funded as of June 30.
William Mabe, executive director, said in the statement, “The plan continues to be significantly underfunded due to a long history of the state’s failure to pay annually required state contributions and we simply cannot expect investment performance alone to address the shortfall.”
Idaho Public Employees, Boise, returned 20.7% for the fiscal year ended June 30, according to the investment report posted on the $12 billion system’s website. It was the best return for the system in 25 years, Bob Maynard, chief investment officer, said in the report.
International equity and emerging markets equity each returned 28.9%; global equity, 27.8%; domestic equity, 25.1%; and fixed income, 6.2%.
The system’s asset allocation is U.S. public equity, 22%; global equity, 20%; TIPS and fixed income, each 11%; emerging markets equities, 9%; private equity, 8%; EAFE, 7%; private real estate, 5%; Idaho mortgages, 4%; and REITs, 3%.
