Rhode Island Pension Fund Outperforms Benchmark in September

October 30, 2019: The Rhode Island pension fund returned 0.80% during the month of September; earning $67.8 million, with low-fee index funds driving investment performance slightly above the plan’s benchmark return of 0.79% for the period.

Under Treasurer Magaziner's leadership, the State adopted the 'Back to Basics' investment strategy, which is designed to provide long-term growth over time and stability when markets are challenging.

The diversified investment strategy has also served Rhode Island well over longer time periods.

Calendar year‐to‐date the Plan returned 11.8%, significantly outperforming the plan’s benchmark return of 10.6% for the period.

Over the past three years, the fund posted an average annual return of 8.0%, outperforming its benchmark return of 7.8% for the same period. Over the five-year period the fund also outperformed its benchmark, earning an average annual return of 6.0%, as compared to the 5.8% return for the benchmark.

Detailed information about the fund, including the 'Back to Basics' investment strategy, performance, and detailed information about its managers are published online as part of Treasurer Magaziner's "Transparent Treasury" initiative at investments.treasury.ri.gov.