Skip to main content

Welcome to the new Phoenix.gov! We value your feedback. Let us know how we can improve.

Take Survey

The official website of the City of Phoenix

Make a Payment
Report an Issue
Public Records
City Careers

      Investments

      Fund Performance

      Investment returns play an important role in the funded status of the COPERS Trust Fund because they provide the largest percentage of dollars needed to pay future benefits. In fact, for a typical public pension system, investment returns provide about 75% of the monies used to pay pension benefits.

      This portion of the website describes the types of assets in which COPERS invests, and shows the returns on these investments over time.

      We have attempted to present the information in a language that will be meaningful to a wide audience, although we recognize that some terms and financial content may be unfamiliar to some site visitors. We have provided definitions for many of the terms and phrases used at the bottom of this page.

      Growth of Net Investment Portfolio Assets

      Fiscal Years Ended June 30

      Total Plan Net Position Chart

      Asset Allocation

      Asset allocation means investing funds across different markets or asset classes in an attempt to dampen the overall volatility of COPERS' investment returns.  This decision of how to diversify the portfolio has a great influence on investment returns.  The COPERS Board, in consultation with their general investment and real estate consultants, decides what risks are prudent to take and makes its asset allocation decisions by adopting a policy benchmark that identifies the portion of the Trust Fund to invest in each asset class.  COPERS' investment staff periodically rebalance the Fund's investments to keep the portfolio in line with the policy benchmark, but variances may occur from time to time because of market conditions.

      The COPERS Board carefully selects qualified investment managers to construct and manage asset class portfolios that work together.  COPERS currently utilizes 26 investment managers.

      Below are the asset allocation targets established by the COPERS Board.  Note that the Investment Policy recognizes that it may take many months to fully implement some of the changes (especially allocations to other real assets), and that the policy benchmark will change as those asset classes are implemented.

      COPERS Asset Allocation Targets

      Target Allocations as a Percentage of Total Fund

      Asset Allocation Targets

      Glossary of Terms

      Emerging market equities are publicly traded securities of companies located in countries in the process of building a market-based economy.  Emerging market equity is generally more volatile than developed market equity.  (Emerging markets comprise roughly 80% of the world's population and 37% of global economic output.)