State Retirement Funds Expect Wall Street Rebound ANN ARBOR (Michigan Radio) -


The shepherds of Michigan's public employee retirement funds will be closely watching as Wall Street begins another week of trading Monday.

Last week's roller coaster ride in the financial world did cost the state retirement funds millions of dollars.

The state of Michigan manages more than 56 billion dollars in retirement funds for state teachers, state troopers, public employees and judges.

Terry Stanton is a spokesman for the state Treasury Department. He says the funds took a few hits last week. For example, the collapse of insurance industry giant AIG cost the funds about 70 million dollars.

"You never like to lose tens of millions of dollars, but in the stock market game, and in the investment game, that happens from time to time, depending on what the market's doing," says Stanton.

Stanton says the state's retirement fund managers expect to recoup recent losses, as the stock market recovers from its recent setbacks. Approximately a half million beneficiaries and their dependants rely on the state's four retirement funds. © Copyright 2009, Michigan Radio