PERS trust fund rebounds by $4 billion

Nevada's Public Employee Retirement System has recouped $4.2 billion in assets it lost earlier this year as the stock market skidded downward.

Chief Investment Officer Ken Lambert said that puts the total value of PERS assets back at $20 billion, much better than the $15.8 billion it was at just five months ago.

"Things have been looking a little rosier," he said.

Lambert said that when stock values plummeted earlier in the year, PERS was able to buy low. Now, he said, those stocks are gaining, pumping value back into the retirement system's coffers.

It's still below the peak of $22.6 billion PERS reported before the recession, but Lambert said things are still getting better.

"So far in July and the first week in August, the markets are still really strong, so the momentum is continuing."

Lambert emphasized that PERS is not taking risks. He said the fund has been rated in the top 19 percent of funds in the country, and as having among the lowest risk factors.

"It's a very systematic process," he said. "As stocks drop, we sell bonds and buy stocks. As stocks go up, we sell stocks and buy bonds. Buy low and sell high over and over. We've been selling stocks this week."

He said that's a very simple philosophy but sometimes difficult to implement.

"We can't control the markets but we can control how we perform in those markets," Lambert said. "Warren Buffet has a saying that investing is simple but it's not easy."

PERS is the unified public employee retirement system for the state of Nevada. Executive Director Dana Bilyeu said PERS manages retirement plans for 173 public employers including the state and all 17 school districts.