By Phil Kabler, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. —
West Virginia investments have dropped about 7.5% in value, year-to-date, following the coronavirus-driven stock market plunge in late February and March, Investment Management Board Executive Director Craig Slaughter said Wednesday.
“I’m guardedly optimistic we may have seen the low, but we may drop down to that low again in the not-too-distant future,” Slaughter told the Consolidated Public Retirement Board during its April meeting.
Going into the downturn, the IMB had total fund assets of about $19.7 billion and state pension fund assets of $15.9 billion, meaning a 7.5% decline would amount to losses of approximately $1.48 billion and $1.19 billion, respectively.
Slaughter said state investment assets fell about 4% in February and about 10% in March but are up somewhat in April.
Similarly, total value of investments in the Teachers’ Defined Contribution plan, a 401(k)-style retirement plan some educators have opted for, dropped from $575 million on Jan. 31 to $507 million currently, a nearly 12% decline, CPRB Executive Director Jeffery Fleck said. …
