VRS Earned Above-Average Return in Fiscal 2017

A welcome piece of good news from state government: The Virginia Retirement System earned an 11.8% return on investment for the fiscal year ending June 30. The performance exceeded the 7% average return the system assumes for purposes of setting state and local contributions, and it is a big improvement from the previous two years. VRS assets now stand at a historic high of $74 billion, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Those numbers came from Del. Robert D. Orrock Sr., R-Caroline, after a semiannual meeting of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) yesterday. The T-D article did not break down the overall VRS performance by investment category.

According to a March 31 VRS performance summary dated March 2017, investment returns over the first three quarters of the fiscal year were led by a strong performance of the pension fund’s equity portfolio, but most other investment categories did well, too:

Public equities — +13.2%
Investment-grade fixed income — -1.1%
Credit strategies — +8.0%
Real assets — +8.0%
Private equity — +12.2%
Strategic opportunities portfolio — +8.1%

The above-average performance may forestall the perceived need to undertake any additional reforms of the state pension fund or for state and local governments to increase their contributions. A year ago, VRS unfunded liabilities were pegged around $22 billion. The big question now: Can VRS replicate the performance next year? Can U.S. and global stock market averages continue their levitating act?