Assets of the South Carolina Retirement Systems have fallen by 5.1% to $27.7 billion fiscal year-to-date through March 31.
The asset size was pushed downward by net benefit payouts of $778 million and investment losses of $732 million during the period. The pension fund's fiscal year ends June 30. Assets dropped 0.4% in the quarter ended March 31.
The pension fund's annualized returns trailed those of its policy index for shorter time periods ended March 31: three months, 0.5% (benchmark, 2%); fiscal year-to-date, -2.5% (-1.3%); one year, -2.1% (-0.6); and three years, 4.2% (4.3%).
However, over the five-year period ended March 31, the pension fund's 4.9% annualized return topped that of the benchmark, which returned 4.7%.
Performance information came from documents prepared for the Thursday meeting of the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission. The commission oversees investment of pension fund assets for the South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority, a separate administrative agency. Both entities are located in Columbia.
