The US Census Bureau has released Q3 data on the 100-largest public pension funds. In the quarter, the funds lost $237B, or 8.5% — the worst quarter since Q4 2008. Assets are at the same level as 2006 but even a laughable 0% five-year return doesn’t give the full story on how badly they’ve been managed since the worst performers were switched out in 2009.
I wonder how much those managers paid themselves for that kind of performance?
If you’re looking for tomorrow’s conventional wisdom, it’s that pension fund shortfalls will be all over the news in 2020.