NEWS

Real Estate, Real Assets & PE Help Oregon Public Employees’ Have Strong 2021-22

By David G. Barry

The Oregon Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (OPERF) enjoyed a strong 2021-22 fiscal year – boosted by significant gains from its real estate, real assets and private equity portfolios.


According to data presented to the OPERF board, the system at the end of June had a gain of 6.32%, well above its negative 0.66% benchmark. In 2021, OPERF reported a gain of 25.54%, which fell below its 26.89% benchmark.


OPERF had assets under management of $93.3 billion, up from $90 billion a year prior.


For the fiscal 2021-22 year, OPERF saw declines in stocks (13.36%), fixed income (9%) and risk parity (12.5%). However, it saw gains of 29.6% in real estate, 23.1% in real assets, 24.2% in private equity and 17% in diversifying strategies.


OPERF was certainly helped by the fact that it is overallocated to private equity and real estate, but under allocated to stocks. According to the data, OPERF at the end of June had 28% of its assets in private equity against a 20% target. Likewise, it had 13.6% of its assets in real estate versus a 12% target. On the other hand, it had only 21.1% of its assets in stocks – a sector that has a 30% target.


For the year-to-date, OPERF is showing a loss of 1.36% – which is above its negative 5.68% benchmark. Stocks and risk parity are each down 17% during the period.