Rhode Island's pension fund earned 11.6%, outperforming the plan's benchmark and growing to $8.041 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30, General Treasurer Seth Magaziner's office announced Wednesday.
The Rhode Island State Employees' Retirement Fund's net investment performance in fiscal 2017 topped both the 11.3% return of its benchmark and the 10.8% return for a traditional 60/40 investment portfolio. Longer term, Rhode Island's net investment performance outperformed its benchmark for the three-, five- and 10-year periods ended June 30.
In September 2016, Mr. Magaziner announced a "back to basics" investment strategy for the pension fund, which includes a significant reduction in its hedge fund investments.