PSPRS trust reaches $27.5 billion with strong investment returns
Public Safety Personnel Retirement System
State of Arizona
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Christian Palmer
Phone: (602) 296-3736
PSPRS trust reaches $27.5 billion with strong investment returns
14.5 percent return in FY2026 more than double assumed return
ARIZONA – The Public Safety Personnel Retirement System reported a 14.5 percent investment return for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, generating $3.3 billion for the trust serving the public safety, corrections and elected officials retirement plans.
The net-of-fee return is more than double the 7.2 percent actuarial assumed rate of return set by the PSPRS Board of Trustees. Led by a 29.3 percent return on international stocks and a 22.3 percent rise in domestic stock value, the annual investment performance pushed the trust’s assets under management to a record level of $27.5 billion from $24.2 billion last year.
“Strong returns are important, but how you achieve them matters,” said PSPRS Trustee and Investment Committee Chairman Harry Papp. “The PSPRS investment team generates competitive returns while maintaining a disciplined approach to risk that has contributed significantly to the trust’s growth and strengthened our ability to meet our long-term obligations to plan members.”
The PSPRS investment strategy has evolved as the financial position of the trust has improved. In recent years, public safety and corrections employers have paid down more than $5.8 billion of unfunded pension obligations, while PSPRS has increased its allocation to publicly traded stocks after continued analysis of how investment volatility impacts employer contribution rates.
“The PSPRS trust is in a much better position than it was 10 or even five years ago,” said PSPRS Chief Investment Officer Mark Steed. “As a result, we have been able invest more aggressively to capture additional long-term growth while keeping the potential impact of market volatility on employer contribution rates in check.”
PSPRS investment performance exceeded the system’s 7.2 percent assumed earnings rate over the one, three, five and seven-year periods, supporting stronger plan funding levels and long-term sustainability.
Through the fiscal year, the PSPRS portfolio was 56% less volatile than the S&P 500 index. When compared to peers, PSPRS ranked in the top 34th performance percentile over the one-year period and top 27th percentile over the seven-year actuarial cycle.
Employer valuations for FY 2026 and the system’s consolidated annual reports for all PSPRS plans will be completed and published before year-end.
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