MassPRIM ends year with nearly $101 billion in assets

Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board ended 2023 with a record $100.9 billion in assets, on the back of a net investment gain of 11.2% for the year, said Michael Trotsky, the state fund's Boston-based executive director and chief investment officer, at a Jan. 30 meeting.of PRIM's investment committee.

Despite considerable challenges around the world, PRIM's Pension Reserves Investment Trust fund enjoyed "very strong" returns for both the fourth quarter and the full 2023 calendar year, Trotsky said.

The PRIT fund saw net gains of 6.1% for the December quarter and 11.2% for 2023 — or a net investment gain of $10 billion for the year, he said.

The investment committee approved a single incremental change to PRIM's asset allocations for the coming year, lifting the portfolio target for value-added fixed income by 1 percentage point to a range of 6% to 12% from the previous range of 5% to 11%.

The committee approved a corresponding drop in PRIM's target for global equities to between 31% and 41%, from the current range of 32% to 42%. Maria Garrahan, a senior investment officer and director of research, told the meeting the reduction would be focused on developed markets equities.

At the end of 2023, PRIM's actual allocation was 39.5% global equities, 17.1% private equity, 13.6% core fixed income, 10.3% real estate, 8.5% hedge fund-focused portfolio completion strategies, 7.3% value-added fixed income, 3.2% timberland and 0.5% overlay portfolio.