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As a precautionary measure related to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, the ERS office is currently closed to the public. All meetings and walk-ins are being cancelled at this time until further notice.
Please be advised that the ERS’s daily operations and services are NOT interrupted, including the processing of benefit-related updates and annuity payments.
Please email us at norm@cmers.com with your questions. Please be advised that responses may be delayed.
In late February and early March, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about an unprecedented stop to much of the economic activity across the globe. This shutdown had a major impact on risk assets. The S&P 500 fell over 30% in only 22 trading days, which is the fastest 30% drop on record. Small cap and value stocks were hit even harder. Even many bonds fell, as credit spreads widened. Some of the only assets to report positive returns were US treasury bonds, as interest rates fell to record lows, and gold. In this environment, the City of Milwaukee Pension Fund had a return of -17.5%, net of fees, in the first quarter of 2020. At times like these, it is important to remember that the Pension Fund is a long-term investor. There is ample cash and US treasury bonds on hand to pay benefits while the fund rides out this downturn. The Fund started to see a rebound in the month of April, with a preliminary return of 5.9%. The value of the Fund, as of April 30, 2020 was approximately $4.77 billion.
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Other recent news can be found on the most recent newsletter.
Other important information can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Last Update: 5/27/2020