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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 12:29 p.m., Tuesday, April 15, 2003

State pension fund assets down

Advertiser Staff

The state pension fund saw the value of its venture capital assets shrink in 2002, a reflection of a poor economy that caused many venture funds to struggle.

The venture assets of the Employees' Retirement System fell to $159 million, down 10.6 percent from $178 million the previous year, fund managers reported yesterday to the ERS board.

Despite the loss in value, ERS investment advisers said the system's venture funds are being managed competently, and that long-term trends are favorable.

The ERS venture funds, which are managed by Abbott Capital Management, represent 2.2 percent of ERS' $7 billion portfolio of stocks, bonds, property and other assets, which together support the retirement benefits of more than 90,000 state and county government employees, retirees and pension beneficiaries.