DiNapoli: State pension fund valued at $259.9 billion at end of third quarter

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the estimated value of the New York State Common Retirement Fund was $259.9 billion at the end of the third quarter of state fiscal year 2023-24. For the three-month period ending Dec. 31, 2023, fund investments returned an estimated 6.18%.

“The markets have seen an improvement over the past quarter, but some volatility remains,” DiNapoli said. “Economic opinions are mixed about the year ahead and uncertainty persists. Still, thanks to our prudent management and long-term strategy, our pensioners and members can remain confident that their pension benefits are safe.”

The fund's value reflects retirement and death benefits of $4.2 billion paid out during the quarter. Its audited value was $248.5 billion as of March 31, 2023, the end of last state fiscal year.

As of Dec. 31, the fund had 41.84% of its assets invested in publicly traded equities. The remaining fund assets by allocation are invested in cash, bonds and mortgages (22.62%), private equity (14.75%), real estate and real assets (13.30%), and credit, absolute return strategies, and opportunistic alternatives (7.49%).

The fund’s long-term expected rate of return is 5.9%.

A press release stated, “DiNapoli initiated quarterly performance reporting by the fund in 2009 as part of his ongoing efforts to increase accountability and transparency.”

More About the New York State Common Retirement Fund

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is one of the largest public pension funds in the U.S. The fund holds and invests the assets of the New York State and Local Retirement System on behalf of more than 1 million state and local government employees and retirees and their beneficiaries.