North Carolina Retirement Systems, Raleigh, on Monday reported a 3.53% return for the quarter ended March 31, 18 basis points higher than its overall benchmark.
Assets grew to $81.1 billion, up 3.8% from the end of 2012.
The quarter's best-performing asset class was global equity, with a 7.13% return. The credit portfolio returned 4.67%; real estate, 2.63%; and alternatives, which are largely private equity, returned 1.71%. Fixed income was down 0.25%, and the pension fund's inflation portfolio was down 0.77% for the quarter.
“It has become even clearer that fixed assets in bonds are underperforming and will create a drag on our fund,” state Treasurer Janet Cowell, the pension fund's sole trustee, said in a news release. Ms. Cowell is seeking legislative change that will allow her office to boost its share of alternatives to 40% of investment assets.
