Connecticut Pension Achieves 11.5% Return in Fiscal 2024

The Connecticut state pension plan achieved an 11.5% return in fiscal 2024, which ended June 30, the Office of State Treasurer Erik Russell announced Wednesday. The Connecticut system includes the Teachers’ Retirement Fund, the State Employees Retirement Fund and the Municipal Employees Retirement Fund.

Outperforming the fund’s actuarial assumed rate of return of 6.9%, Russell attributed returns to a new asset allocation strategy adopted in 2022. In fiscal 2023, the plan posted an 8.5% return.

“A lot of work has been done in recent years to strategically balance assets within the pension funds, mitigate risk and build a best-in-class investment team,” Russell said in a statement. “We’re seeing the benefit of those efforts manifest with strong returns over the last two years. More importantly, we are well positioned to build on this momentum for sustained success going forward.”

Russell’s office also announced $450 million in new commitments to the pension plan’s private markets portfolio. Up to $100 million was approved in commitments to Insight Partners Opportunities II LP, with $150 million to a sidecar opportunity from Insight Partners, a private equity software investor.

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Up to $200 million was approved in commitments to Hollyport Secondary Opportunities IX LP, a private equity investor in the secondaries market with $5 billion in assets.

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Tags: Connecticut, Erick Russell, Hollyport, Insight Partners, Pensions

James Davis

The International Centre for Pension Management, a network of global pension funds, announced on Monday the appointment of James Davis to its board of directors. Davis is the CIO of OPTrust, a C$25 billion ($18.39 billion) pension fund which serves 110,000 beneficiaries in the province of Ontario.

“James has been a longtime supporter of ICPM and especially engaged in our Research Committee,” said Michelle Ostermann, the ICPM board chair, in a statement. “As CIO at one of the largest funds in Canada, he has a constant pulse on the pension industry and can bring a valuable Canadian perspective to the Board.”

Davis has been CIO of OPTrust since 2015. Previously, he was vice president of strategy and asset mix and chief economist at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Davis earned a B.Sc. in math and engineering, a diploma in meteorology and an MBA in finance from Dalhousie University.

The ICPM publicizes research relevant to public funds, bridging the gap between academics and industry. In May, the organization released research which found direct investments from pension funds can improve the productivity of portfolio companies.

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Some of the largest pensions and institutional funds in the world are a part of the ICPM network, including Norges Bank Investment Management ($1.7 trillion), ABP of the Netherlands ($563 billion), the California Public Employees’ Retirement System ($502.9 billion AUM), CPP Investments ($475.61 billion), and the AustralianSuper ($228.42 billion), among others.

The ICPM network members collectively manage $8 trillion in assets.