Equity and property boost Maryland

September 2004

The Maryland State Retirement and Pension System (MSRPS) recently reported a 16.2 per cent return on investments for the 12 months to end-June, which boosted assets during the period by Ł3.5bn to Ł30.1bn.

The strong performance was led by equity returns of 23.1 per cent and returns on real estate in excess of 20 per cent.

The system’s asset allocation is 50 per cent US equity, 15 per cent international equities, 30 per cent fixed income and 5 per cent real estate. Fifty per cent of the assets are passively managed.

An asset liability management study is being carried out in conjunction with consultants Ennis Knupp. The results will be considered in November, but Steve Huber, CIO of MSRPS does not expect any significant changes to asset allocation. “We might make an allocation to asset classes such as TIPS, commodities, international fixed income, distressed debt or market neutral hedge funds. These asset classes are either good diversifiers for the portfolio, reducing risk, or providing higher returns,” he said.

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