February 6, 2018
Public Safety Personnel Retirement System
State of Arizona
February 6, 2018
PSPRS built to protect your retirement through stock shocks
When the Dow Jones industrial average drops more than 2,000 points in a single week, it’s only natural for anyone with retirement funds invested in the stock market to feel anxiety. Likely mixed in with that twinge you’ve felt over the past few days is a very relevant question:
What have the investment managers at PSPRS done to protect my retirement funds and the financial security of Arizona employers and taxpayers from sharp downturns in the U.S. stock market?
The answer: A lot.
The investment professionals at PSPRS have, over the last decade, completely revamped the fund’s investment strategy to reduce PSPRS’s exposure to risk to guard against exactly the sort of sharp drops we’ve witnessed over the past week.
How? Mostly by more broadly diversifying PSPRS’s assets and cutting back on the system’s reliance on comparatively volatile U.S. stocks and bonds.
Today, the system’s investment portfolio spans 10 different asset classes.
Its diversity means that the current PSPRS portfolio is 72 percent less volatile than the Standard & Poor (S & P) 500 Index.
Here's a graphic explainer:
For a more in-depth look at PSPRS’s investment portfolio, click here. If you have questions, feel free to contact PSPRS at [email protected].
Many thanks for your trust and the chance for us to serve you and your family.
