State Pension Fund Returns Ranked for 10-years Ending 6/30/13

As a follow up to my previous three posts on September 22, October 12, and October 18 I've ranked our US states by pension fund investment returns.  I found 10-year investment returns for 34 of 50 state pension funds and ranked them as of June 30, 2013.  

The Wilshire TUCS median return for public pensions for ten years is 7.4%.  

As is typical, my home state of North Carolina can be found near the bottom of the table with a 6.6% 10-year annualized return.  Using a basic time value financial calculator, I estimate North Carolina's under-performance versus the median public pension return has cost tax payers approximately $6 billion the past 10 years.

		10-yr
Rank	State	Return
1	WA	8.3%
2	LA	8.2%
3	MA	8.1%
4	KS	7.9%
5	ID	7.9%
6	IA	7.8%
7	PA	7.7%
8	IL	7.7%
9	VA	7.6%
10	NY	7.5%
11	WV	7.5%
12	FL	7.4%
13	RI	7.4%
14	AZ	7.4%
15	MI	7.4%
16	NJ	7.3%
17	TX	7.2%
18	CA	7.2%
19	NH	7.2%
20	NE	7.2%
21	MS	7.2%
22	VT	7.1%
23	ND	7.1%
24	ME	6.9%
25	NV	6.8%
26	MO	6.7%
27	KY	6.7%
28	MD	6.6%
29	MT	6.6%
30	NC	6.6%
31	NM	6.4%
32	TN	6.2%
33	IN	5.9%
34	SC	5.0%

State Pension Fund Returns Ranked for 3-years Ending 6/30/13

As a follow up to my previous two posts on September 22 and October 12, I've ranked our US states by pension fund investment returns.  I found 3-year investment returns for 39 of 50 state pension funds and ranked them as of June 30, 2013.  

The Wilshire TUCS median return for public pensions for three years is 11.5%.  

As is typical, my home state of North Carolina can be found 4th from last in the table.

Rank	State	3-yr Return
1	MN	13.0%
2	MS	12.7%
3	IL	12.6%
4	AZ	12.6%
5	NH	12.4%
6	KS	12.2%
7	MT	12.1%
8	DE	12.1%
9	NE	12.0%
10	GA	12.0%
11	NY	11.9%
12	LA	11.9%
13	MI	11.9%
14	OR	11.9%
15	MO	11.8%
16	NV	11.8%
17	CO	11.7%
18	TN	11.6%
19	FL	11.5%
20	TX	11.4%
21	NM	11.4%
22	WA	11.3%
23	ND	11.3%
24	MA	11.3%
25	CA	11.3%
26	IA	11.1%
27	ME	11.0%
28	RI	10.6%
29	NJ	10.6%
30	VA	10.5%
31	VT	10.5%
32	PA	10.4%
33	ID	10.2%
34	AK	10.2%
35	MD	10.0%
36	NC	9.9%
37	KY	9.8%
38	SC	9.3%
39	IN	8.4%

State Pension Fund Investment Rankings 2013

As a follow up to my previous post on September 22, I've ranked our US states by pension fund investment returns.  I found 1-year investment returns for 47 of 50 state pension funds and ranked them as of June 30, 2013.  

In the table below, you can click on the state abbreviation to link to the pension fund website. You can also click on the return figure to reach the source document for the reported returns. 

Rank	State	Return
1	SD	19.5%
2	AR	15.6%
3	NH	14.5%
4	MN	14.2%
5	KS	14.0%
6	OH	13.7%
7	ND	13.5%
8	MS	13.4%
9	GA	13.3%
10	NM	13.3%
11	IL	13.2%
12	FL	13.1%
13	AZ	13.1%
14	MT	13.0%
15	WV	12.8%
16	MA	12.7%
17	NE	12.7%
18	OR	12.7%
19	LA	12.6%
20	MO	12.6%
21	CA	12.5%
22	NV	12.4%
23	WA	12.4%
24	NY	12.3%
25	MI	12.2%
26	HI	12.0%
27	OK	12.0%
28	VA	11.8%
29	NJ	11.8%
30	CT	11.5%
31	WI	11.2%
32	DE	11.1%
33	ME	11.1%
34	RI	11.1%
35	KY	11.0%
36	AK	10.9%
37	CO	10.6%
38	MD	10.6%
39	TX	10.2%
40	IA	10.1%
41	SC	10.0%
42	TN	9.9%
43	NC	9.5%
44	ID	9.1%
45	VT	8.8%
46	PA	8.0%
47	IN	6.0%

Returns for Alabama, Utah, and Wyoming were no where to be found. 

North Carolina Retirement System Returns Lag Median Pension Returns BADLY

The North Carolina Retirement System (NCRS) return of just 9.5% for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013 lagged the median pension plan very badly according to an analysis by Pensions & Investments Magazine and Wilshire's Trust Universe Comparison Service (TUCS).  The median large public pension earned returns of 12.6% for the year ending June 30, 2013, or 3.1% higher than NCRS.  Considering the NCRS plan is approximately $81 billion, the 3.1% of under-performance translates into $2.5 billion in lost returns for 2013.  

Median Pension Return = 12.6%
NCRS 2013 Return = 9.5%
Difference = -3.1%
NC Tax Payer Cost = $2.5 Billion 

Fido Bites The Hand That Feeds Him

Fidelity Investments EMPLOYEES are suing FIDELITY for breach of fiduciary duty by repeatedly adding "high-fee, actively-managed Fidelity mutual funds" with "little or no track record" to the Fidelity 401(k) plan.  Do I really need to explain how funny this is?  

The lead plaintiff and former employee, Lori Bilewicz, invested in the Fidelity Freedom 2040 fund within the Fidelity 401(k).  The class-action complaint by 26 current and former employees relates closely to my most popular blog post of all time from 2/15/2012: Fidelity Freedom Funds Aren't "Free" But Are "Dumb".  I would suppose any 401(k) plan using the Fidelity Freedom Funds will be interested in the outcome of this lawsuit. 

You can find more information about the lawsuit by clicking here.  
You can read the actual lawsuit complaint by clicking here. 

A couple of my favorite podcasts

Listening to Podcasts isn't a new thing, but it is new to me.  I love to listen to "Freakonomics Radio" (once a week) and "The Clark Howard Show" (daily).   Both are informative and entertaining and FREE.

"The Clark Howard Show" is an awesome personal finance show that I have been listening to on 850 AM radio in Raleigh every day between 1-3 PM.  But, I can't always listen at that time. So, now I just listen whenever I want via his podcast that I download to my smart phone.  

I loved the books, "Freakonomics" and "Super Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner and was thrilled when I recently discovered "Freakonomics Radio".  

More truth about Hedge Funds

It seems it is becoming more popular to bash hedge funds in the media - and rightly so.  Hedge funds are unregulated, expensive, black boxes that rarely deliver market-beating returns.  I just wish the people that control other people's money would listen.  Click here to read another great article by Ted Siedle of Forbes magazine.  Every pension fund manager in America should read Ted's article.    

Hat tip to JM