CalPERS is reporting a 12.5 percent return on investment for the last fiscal year. That’s up significantly from the year before, which netted just a one percent return.
Chief Investment Officer Joe Dear says CalPERS rode the stock market up this year. And responding to critics who question the fund’s long term viability, Dear says the system is stable.
“If you have confidence in the resilience of capital markets, you’ll be rewarded, and we have been,” he said.
But CalPERS still pegs its unfunded liability at $100 billion, an increase over last year. Critics say the amount could be significantly higher.
CalPERS is still recovering from a more than 23 percent loss in fiscal year 2009. The 258 billion dollar system has more than 1.6 million members.
The California State Teachers’ Retirement system today also announced a 13.8 percent return on investment for last fiscal year. It reports a $70 billion unfunded liability.