The Permanent Fund has begun to turn around the stock market losses of the past two years. Executive Director Mike Burns reports a return of $3.4 Billion during the first quarter of this fiscal year. That’s a 10.7% increase – putting the fund’s value at $33-Billion.
Burns says while the increase was good, he’s not ready to say the Fund is out of the woods yet.
I don’t know if it’s a clearing or there’s a clear field ahead of us. We don’t predict that far out. But it’s certainly been a much, much better market and economy the last six months. It’s hard to believe is was just a year ago this fall when things looked like they might have no bottom ever.
The fund reached its highest value ever exactly two years ago – peaking at $40- Billion. It fell to $26-Billion for a brief time in March of this year. That reflected the worldwide economic conditions.
Burns says talking to investors during a recent trip to New York, he heard references to the past year as the ultimate stress test to the nation’s financial system.
-30-
AKJ3 