by Bob Jacksha, ERB Chief Financial Officer
“It’s not supposed to be easy. Anyone who finds it easy is stupid.”
– Charlie Munger, the eminently quotable vice-chair of Berkshire Hathaway.
The comment about investing was relevant for the fiscal year ended June 30th. For the first half, the Federal Reserve’s easy policies provided a tailwind to investors. The Fed began tightening monetary policy in the second half. Markets gave up the previous gains. All but a very few pension funds posted a loss for the fiscal year. Not so easy anymore. Due to a well-diversified strategy, ERB did manage a 1% gain for the fiscal year. The full results are posted on our Investment Performance page.
You can be assured that the staff and Board of your pension fund will continue to do our best. In doing so, we will endeavor to be mindful of another quote from Mr. Munger: “A majority of life’s errors are caused by forgetting what one is really trying to do.”