The New York State Common Retirement Fund returned 1.1% overall in the fiscal 2017 third quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2016, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced Monday.
"The state pension fund enjoyed a solid third quarter and, barring a significant downturn, is headed for a successful year," said DiNapoli in a statement. "We continue to focus on prudent, long-term management of investments to make sure our assets match our liabilities."
The fund finished the quarter with an estimated value of $186 billion, a slight increase from $184.5 billion it had as of Sept. 30, 2016 when the overall return was the second highest in history at 3.51%. The fund's first quarter that ended on June 30, 2016 had an overall return of 2% and an estimated value of $181 billion. The estimated value reflects benefits paid out each quarter.
DiNapoli noted that as of Dec. 31 the state's retirement fund had 38.5% of its assets invested in publicly traded domestic equities and 15.6% in international public equities. The Democratic comptroller initiated quarterly performance reporting by the fund in 2009 as part of an effort to increase accountability and transparency.
