On Thursday, the state interim Investments and Pensions Oversight Committee held their first meeting since this year’s legislative session where they reviewed performance of state funds.
According to the Legislative Finance Committee report, state investments saw a growth of $9.6 billion, or 12%, compared to last year.
The New Mexico investment holdings have a total value of $87 billion, with 40% allocated to pension funds and 60% to permanent funds.
The report highlighted that investments benefited from resilient market conditions with continued growth through 2024.
One-year returns were strong for funds which included the Educational Retirement Board, the Public Employees Retirement Association, and the Land Grant Permanent Fund. The Severance Tax Permanent Fund was the only fund that failed to meet its target.
Pension fund investments grew by $2.1 billion or by 6.4% over the past year.
Rep. Tara Lujan (D-Santa Fe) said she represents a large population of state employees and retirees and that the committee needs to take a closer look at how the investments can address inflation.
“Because it’s an issue, especially rising costs in food and everything else, and all the issues that we are addressing as legislators, our taxes and whatnot,” she said.
Members of the committee agreed that they needed better coordination and communication with the investment board and suggested scheduling joint meetings in the future.
Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
