Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • LOGIN
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Regulation
    • SECURE 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • Washington
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
    • Innovation in ESG Investing
    • 2023 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Research Center
    • The P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2023 Canadian Pension Risk Strategies
    • 2023 Retirement Income
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. ASSET OWNERS
February 14, 2012 12:00 AM

CalPERS actuary recommends changing assumed investment return

Bloomberg
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    CalPERS should consider changing its assumed rate of investment return from the current 7.75%, its actuary said Tuesday.

    “It could have a very significant impact on employer contribution rates,” actuary Alan Milligan told the board of the $229.6 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Sacramento. He said he would make more specific recommendations to the panel in March.

    CalPERS last year rejected Mr. Milligan’s proposal to reduce the assumed rate of return to 7.5%. Board members at the time expressed concern that the lower figure would burden local governments when they already were facing financial strains.

    The pension fund estimates it has about 75% of the money it needs to cover promised benefits. That differs from a Stanford University report that said CalPERS was only 58% funded, based on a 6.2% annual return on assets.

    The $144.8 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System, West Sacramento, agreed Feb. 2 to lower its assumed rate of return to 7.5% from 7.75%, the fund’s second reduction since 2010.

    CalSTRS said it was 71% funded as of June 30, 2010.

    The lower assumed rate added $5.9 billion to a $56 billion shortfall projected at the time, according to Milliman, the fund’s consulting actuary.

    At CalPERS, volatility in the public markets has caused wider than expected variations in the fund’s annual returns. In the fiscal year ended June 30, CalPERS earned 20.7%, its best result in 14 years, led by stocks and private equity. Since then, the fund has dropped 4.5%. It lost almost a quarter of its value in 2009 as the global recession dragged down stock prices and real estate values.

    The fund earned 1.1% in 2011 as global stocks, which make up about half of its assets, dropped about 8% in the period. The S&P 500 had a total return of 2.1% last year.

    Separately, on Monday, CalPERS’ investment committee approved dropping its investment policy subcommittee, which reviews all investment policies for the retirement system, according to Brad Pacheco, system spokesman.

    “The review of policies by two committees is redundant and time consuming” because the investment committee and the subcommittee are reviewing the same policy issues, according to an agenda item for the meeting.

    The ad hoc subcommittee has six board members and was formed in 1995 to develop investment policies for the retirement system.

    Reporter Randy Diamond contributed to this story.

    Related Articles
    CalPERS panel rejects rate-of-return cut
    California must do more to cut pension fund deficits, report says
    CalPERS 2011 return below its assumed rate by 6.65 percentage points
    CalPERS: California hybrid proposal would save little, increase risk
    CalPERS panel to review CIO's 2-year investment road map
    CalPERS slates discussion on lowering assumed rate of return
    CalPERS cuts investment return assumption to 7.5%
    Recommended for You
    Stack_of_Money_i.jpg
    Wilshire TUCS plans post first positive return of year in Q4
    FTX_Screen_i.jpg
    FTX bankruptcy ensnares Kraft, Och and other family offices
    ONLINE_180419851_AR_0_SWJHUISTXOVN.jpg
    Northern Trust plan universe returns -4.2% in Q3
    ESG: Seeking Alignment with Climate Change
    Sponsored Content: ESG: Seeking Alignment with Climate Change

    Reader Poll

    May 1, 2023
     
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Counting on a Crisis: A Catalyst for Investment Innovation?
    A Strategic Allocator's Guide to Productivity and Profits
    Biodiversity: why investors should care
    Quantifying sustainability – the numbers, the data, and the people
    Valuing Banks: Hidden Losses Versus Assets
    Research for Institutional Money Management
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    December 12, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Regulation
      • SECURE 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • Washington
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • ESG Investing | Industry Brief
      • Innovation in ESG Investing
      • 2023 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • The Plan Sponsor's Guide to Retirement Income
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2023 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Research Center
      • The P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2023 Canadian Pension Risk Strategies
      • 2023 Retirement Income