I hope this message finds you enjoying the beginning of a new school year and all the activities that go along with it. If you are retired, congratulations, but if you are feeling lonely and bored at home, please consider taking steps to allow yourself more contact and interaction with others. This could involve joining a health club, volunteering time at one of the area foodbanks or libraries, or even taking advantage of one of several return-to-work options made available to retired educators. In either circumstance, I hope everyone had an enjoyable Summer and were able to catch up on missed opportunities and experiences resulting from the pandemic the past few years.
I am pleased to report that ERB’s investment team managed to generate a positive 1 percent investment return in fiscal year 2022, or the period ending June 30, 2022. In August the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service reported that public pension plans lost a median 7.9 percent in the same time period. The bulk of these losses came in the Spring, as a result of geopolitical uncertainty across the globe combined with actions taken by the Federal Reserve to tame inflation. Despite these challenges, ERB’s investment staff was able to outperform most of its peers in the public pension investment universe. More on the subject in Bob Jacksha’s article, “Bulls, Bears, and ERB.”
ERB staff is currently under contract negotiations with a partner to implement a new Pension Administration System that will be used to account for and deliver pension benefits to more than 100 thousand active and retired educators for the next decade or longer. This system is expected to provide the latest in technological advances with regard to process efficiencies and cyber security. NMERB is also in the final stages of the design process for construction of a new office building which is expected to begin in the Summer of 2023 and completed in the Fall of 2024.
Again, I hope this message finds both active and retired members in a good place with a positive outlook, as we collectively search for opportunities to improve and strengthen the education system in New Mexico.
Until the Winter Message, stay safe.
Executive Director