Whether the grass, or the pension fund return, is a more lucrative shade of green on the other side of the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System, is the subject of an ongoing inquiry by officials.
Trustees of the $57 billion pension fund for public school employees bet $100 million on a new investment with an I-Spy name —”Project Newton”— run by a manager PSERS wouldn’t name.
Battered by the coronavirus pandemic and low interest rates, public pension plans are headed for a record shortfall, posing risks to the living standards of millions of employees and retirees.
The unfunded liability of pension funds for state employees and teachers has risen as market returns have lagged on investments by Virginia’s $82 billion retirement system.
CPPIB manages about 434.4 billion Canadian dollars as of June 30 and a bulk of its investments are in North America — a little over 34% of total assets are allocated in the United States — followed by Asia.