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Stay the Course On Investments

State officials hit by round after round of bad fiscal news may have been wondering what on earth could go wrong next. They got their answer last week.

West Virginia’s state investments have been doing well for many years. That came to a screeching halt during the fiscal year that ended June 30.

Instead of gaining value, the state’s investment portfolio lost money last year. The total value of assets handled by the Investment Management Board dropped from $17.18 billion to $16.71 billion. That is a $470 million loss.

Of particular interest are investments of state pension fund money. Their value dropped to $13.2 billion, down from $13.63 billion.

Still, both the pension fund for teachers and that for other public employees have a good long-term record. Even counting last year, the two funds have grown by nearly 7 percent.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and legislators would be right to be concerned about last year’s performance. They should maintain their traditional hands-off attitude toward the investment board, however.

Investment officials have adopted a prudent policy of balancing gains with conservative action intended to safeguard assets. Their multi-year record of success argues against any knee-jerk reaction to the bad news from last year.

Still, the situation bears monitoring. Unless a reversal is seen soon, a change in policy may be prudent.

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