New York State Pension Returns 6.1% in Q1; Cuts Tech Stocks Ahead of Slump

New York’s state pension fund registered a 6.1% return for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, raising its asset value to $309.7 billion, from $295.4 billion at the end of March. The fund also cut back sharply on its equity holdings in tech giants Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia and Micron Technologies during the quarter.

“The New York State Common Retirement Fund returned another strong quarter despite a host of factors including persistent inflation, higher energy prices and ongoing geopolitical conflicts,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, in a statement. “Our disciplined investment strategy is focused on diversification, responsible risk management and long-term stability.”

As of March 31, the NYCRF’s asset allocation was 39.4% public equities, 22.9% in cash, bonds and mortgages, 14.3% private equity, 14.3% real estate and real assets and 9.1% credit, absolute return strategies and opportunistic alternatives.

The fund’s annual long-term expected rate of return is 5.9%.

Ahead of tech stock slump that began in July, the pension fund cut back sharply on its shares in Nvidia, Apple, Google, and Microsoft during the second quarter, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings for Q1 and Q2.

Compared with the end of the first quarter, the NYCRF reported more than 1.3 million fewer shares in Nvidia at the end of the second quarter, which is equal to about a 5% reduction of its holdings in the chipmaker.

NYCRF cut its holdings in Google owner Alphabet’s A and C shares by 5.2% combined, or a 666,100 drop in shares.  The pension fund cut its exposure to Apple stock by 638,000, or 3.7%, during the quarter, while it reported owning roughly 378,000 fewer shares of Microsoft, or a 4.4% cut in its shareholdings.