Investments Archive
Performance Summary as of October 31, 2008 (pdf)
Performance Summary as of September 30, 2008 (pdf)
Performance Summary as of June 30, 2008 (pdf)
Performance Summary as of April 30, 2008 (pdf)
Performance Summary as of December 31, 2007 (pdf)
Investment Updates
December 31, 2008 - As of this date, the equity allocation was $1.739 billion and 11.91% of the total portfolio.
Investment performance for the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) at year end was down from last year, but the fund’s position in bonds helped mitigate the return. The income rate of return for the $14.6 billion fund was 5.89%. A summary through 12/31/08 is available above.
TMRS has completed the first stage of an asset diversification plan approved by the system’s Board of Trustees in 2007, moving away from the fund’s traditional 100% fixed income portfolio. By December 31, 2008, approximately 12% of the fund was invested in passive equity index funds: 6% in the Russell 3000 and 6% in the MSCI-EAFE. The remaining 88% of the fund is invested in fixed-income securities. Total Return for the year was -1.30%.
Recent economic events have not had a significant effect on retirement benefits for TMRS members or retirees. The monthly benefit received by retirees is secure and will not be reduced even if economic conditions continue to be troubled. Benefits that have been earned by active employees are also secure.
Each city ultimately bears the burden of funding its TMRS plan. In the event of a long-term economic downturn, decreased investment returns may increase the need for cities to make additional contributions and/or modify their city’s plan benefits. TMRS will continue to work with cities to ensure that all TMRS benefits remain secure and continue to be properly funded.
November 30, 2008 - As of this date, the equity allocation was $1.042 billion and 7.7% of the total portfolio.
September 22, 2008 - With all the financial news that has been in the headlines recently, TMRS has received phone calls about our investments. However, direct impact on TMRS’ investment returns from the Lehman bankruptcy, the Merrill Lynch takeover by Bank of America, and the government action on AIG should be insignificant.
TMRS has direct exposure to Lehman only through the Russell 3000 index fund, and that exposure is minimal, at about .004%. All loans to Lehman through our securities lending program have been successfully recalled. The Merrill Lynch and Bank of America merger is considered a positive event for Merrill Lynch, and TMRS overall exposure to these two companies is about 1.1% of our total holdings, the majority of that in the bond portfolio. These events will undoubtedly affect the market overall, but the extent of that impact is impossible to predict.
The diversification of the TMRS investments across issuing companies is governed by TMRS Investment Policy, designed to help protect the portfolio from company specific events. TMRS is a long-term investor and the Investment Policy is designed to mitigate negative effects of adverse market events.
July 31, 2008 - As of this date, the equity allocation was $1.086 billion and 7.3% of the total portfolio.
July 1, 2008 - According to our plan to average into the equity market, TMRS has invested a total of $1,010,000,000 in equities as of this date — $505 million in a Russell 3000 Index Fund and $505 million in an EAFE (international, developed country) Index Fund. We now have a 7% allocation invested in equities; these investments move us on our way to the 12% allocation approved by the Board for 2008.