(The Center Square) – Florida officials say the state’s investments, which support its pension funds and local governments, hit a record high on its asset values in the recently-concluded fiscal year.
This comes as lawmakers required the State Board of Administration to protect its investments from environmental, social, and corporate governance considerations and focus exclusively on its fiduciary duty to maximize returns for the state’s investments. The board was also required to divest its Chinese-based investments by September of last year.
“This year’s record results reflect Florida’s commitment to responsible fiscal governance and financial discipline,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a release. “By focusing on returns, not political agendas, the SBA is securing the future for our law enforcement officers, firefighters, teachers and taxpayers alike.”
The board reported $277 billion assets under management for fiscal 2024-25 ending June 30. That’s a $20 billion improvement over last year’s figure.
The Florida Retirement System Pension Plan (defined benefit) reached a peak over $211 billion, while the Florida Retirement System Investment Plan (a 401(k)-style fund) hit an all-time high with an unaudited market value exceeding $20 billion.
Florida PRIME, a pool of investments run by the board, hit a new high of $34 billion. PRIME investors include state agencies, public universities and colleges, counties, cities, special districts and school boards, among other governmental entities. Last year, the plan’s funds totaled $25.3 billion.
“The State Board of Administration closed out a tremendously successful fiscal year with solid investment performance and significant operational improvements driving efficiency,” said SBA executive director Chris Spencer. “Our industry-leading investment and operations professionals will continue to deliver high quality service for our beneficiaries and the state of Florida in the fiscal year ahead.”
The board manages 29 investment funds with a total market value of $257.5 billion, which includes both retirement funds, the Local Government Surplus Funds Trust Fund and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, among others.
This comes a year after the Florida Retirement System’s pension and investment plans did not meet their one-year benchmarks.
The report by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability released in April also found that the Investment Plan didn’t meet its three-year benchmark, while the Pension Plan failed to meet its 25-year funding objective.
The board invests about half of the managed funds into global equities (stocks), with the latest figure at 48.5%.
The Pension Fund earned a rate of return of 10.5%, still 0.6% below its benchmark of 11%.
The Investment Fund earned 13.4%, 0.4% before its expected benchmark.
