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Treasurer Erick Russell Announces Strong Year-End Investment Performance,
$200 Million in New Commitments at September Investment Advisory Council Meeting

HARTFORD, Connecticut – On Wednesday, Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell announced that the state’s pension funds have outperformed investment benchmarks over the past fiscal year. 

The update, given during the September meeting of the Investment Advisory Council (IAC), shows the Teachers' Retirement Fund ("TERF") and the State Employees' Retirement Fund ("SERF") generated net investment results of 8.35% and 9.02% respectively for Fiscal Year 2023. Across the full portfolio of Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (CRPTF), the positive investment performance added an estimated $1.1 billion in plan assets during Fiscal Year 2023.

“Reforms that have been put in place to strengthen our investment returns are starting to produce positive results,” said Treasurer Russell. “As long-term investors, single year returns are not how we measure success, but I’m confident that we will build on this work and continue towards our goal of being among the best performing public investors in the nation. Maximizing pension investments is important, not just for the retirement security of retired teachers, state and municipal workers, but for all state residents. Strong returns will free up resources for other budgetary priorities, including long-term investments in our communities, and complement the progress that’s been made to build reserves and stabilize state finances. I’m grateful to the IAC and the team in my office that have worked so hard to get to this position, and I look forward to continued success going forward.”

The investment performance comes after the Office of the Treasurer and IAC rewrote the Investment Policy Strategy in 2022 and made targeted changes to asset allocations and risk mitigation strategies. Legislation passed this past session will improve retention, recruitment and professional development opportunities within the agency, and expanded eligibility for members of the IAC. 

"The volunteer members of the IAC are proud to serve and share responsibility for Connecticut's investment strategy and performance," said Ellen Shuman, Chair of the Investment Advisory Council. "Together, we have implemented several significant changes to rebalance assets, improve manager selection, mitigate risk, and position the CRPTF for sustained, long-term growth. While the results for FY23 are promising and evidence that we are heading in the right direction, our efforts are aimed at maximizing performance over multi-year intervals. It will be crucial to maintain our positive momentum and build on this encouraging progress."

For the longer-term period of 10-years, ending June 30, 2023, both the TERF and the SERF plans outperformed benchmarks, generating net investment results of 6.94% and 7.04%, respectively. 

Also in Wednesday’s meeting, Treasurer Russell announced two upcoming investment commitments totaling $200 million, based on input he received at July’s IAC meeting. Both investments are in the state’s private credit portfolio: $125 million to Bregal Sagemount Credit Opportunities Series 2023 and $75 million to Bregal Sagemount Direct Lending Series 2023.  

Potential investments in two categories were also reviewed at the meeting. Principal Investment Officer Denise Stake and Investment Officer Philip Conner presented Blue Owl Real Estate Fund VI, L.P., a Real Estate Fund opportunity. Principal Investment Officer Mark Evans and Investment Officer Carmen Melaragno presented Leeds Equity Partners VIII, LP, a Private Investment Fund opportunity.

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About the Office of the Treasurer 

The Office of the Treasurer is charged with safeguarding Connecticut’s financial resources through prudent cash and debt management, with the State Treasurer serving as principal fiduciary for six state pension and nine state trust funds. Additionally, the Office enhances the state’s fiscal stability through programs promoting financial literacy and college savings, and it leverages business partnerships to support the advancement of Connecticut’s social and policy priorities, including combating gun violence and protecting our environment. The Office of the Treasurer is led by State Treasurer Erick Russell, the only Black elected state treasurer in the country. To learn more, visit portal.ct.gov/ott. 

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FILE - Former President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before departure from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023, in Atlanta. A judge on Friday, Sept. 8, is expected to release the full report compiled by a special grand jury that helped an investigation by the Georgia prosecutor who ultimately indicted Trump and 18 others. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File

Lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell are the two who have filed speedy trial demands. They also requested to be tried separately from each other, but McAfee denied that request. Chesebro is accused of working on the coordination and execution of a plan to have 16 Georgia Republicans sign a certificate declaring falsely that Trump won and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors. Powell is accused of participating in a breach of election equipment in rural Coffee County.

Most of the other defendants have filed motions to be tried alone or in smaller groups, but prosecutors noted that those defendants have not waived their rights to file their own speedy trial demands. The deadline for that is Nov. 5, and if such demands were filed it would trigger one or more trials starting within the two-month court term that begins Nov. 6, with the trial for Chesebro and Powell likely still underway. That could lead to multiple trials in the high-profile case happening simultaneously, creating security issues and “unavoidable burdens” on witnesses and victims, prosecutors argued.

Requiring defendants to waive their speedy trial right as a condition to separate their case “would prevent the logistical quagmire described above, the inevitable harm to victims and witnesses, and the risk of gamesmanship,” prosecutors wrote. Additionally, they argued, defendants who say they want to be tried separately because they won’t be ready by Oct. 23 should have to inform the court when they expect to be ready for trial.

Five of the defendants are seeking to move their cases to federal court, and lawyers for Trump have said he may do the same. McAfee expressed concern last week about proceeding to trial in the state court while those attempts are ongoing because the law that allows federal officials to move state charges to federal court in some cases says “a judgment of conviction shall not be entered” unless the case is first sent back to state court. But prosecutors noted that the law explicitly allows a case to continue to move forward in a state court while the question of moving a case to federal court is pending.

Federal Judge Steve Jones last week rejected the attempt by Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to move his case to federal court and sent it back to state court, but Meadows is appealing that ruling. The four others who have already filed notice to move their cases have hearings before Jones scheduled for next week.