Moody's: US Public Pension Funds Face Nearly $1 Trillion in Losses

newsmax ^ | Mar 25, 2020

[Jim Robinson]

The market crash and the economic fallout from the coronavirus have led to nearly $1 trillion in investment losses for U.S. public pension funds, Moody's Investors Service said.

The credit rating agency said the funds are generally facing an average investment loss of about 21% in the fiscal year that ends June 30, based on a March 20 snapshot of market indexes.

The severity of the spreading COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and government-ordered shutdowns in various U.S. states have weighed heavily on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average erasing over three years of gains in one month.

“Without a dramatic bounceback of investment markets, 2020 pension investment losses will mark a significant turning point where the downside exposure of some state and local governments' credit quality to pension risk comes to fruition because of already heightened liabilities and lower capacity to defer costs,” Tom Aaron, a Moody's vice president, said in a statement.

[ConservativeMind]

I bought TQQQ in the last minutes of Friday and sold it today before the downturn at the end. Made 32% profit.

I had never played with leveraged ETFs before. You can gain or lose a lot.

I had an equal amount in SOXL and made a 60% profit, buying and selling at the same times.

Those things are scary, though.

[DoughtyOne]

I was noticing that. In fact it made up over 2,600 points.

Futures were looking down earlier, but they have rebounded
into positive territory once again.

You know, I was thinking earlier today that we may see
30,000 by the end of the year.

I don’t know anything about TQQQs. I’d have to play it very
conservative, if I were to try them.

Good luck to you. Sounds like you’re doing it right.

Sounds like you’re only using money you can afford to lose,
and that’s always a good strategy.

[DoughtyOne]

Just read that the Motley Fool has issued a “Double Down” buy alert.

[dp0622]

NICE!!!!

Ah, you go in knowing what you can afford to lose and it’s ok.

It’s a trade, not an investment and so if you lose a few bucks, it wasn’t part of your retirement.

I am happy for you.

I’m up but I will lose in the end because I’m a degenerate gambler who treats stocks like roulette wheels :)

[dp0622]

It is money I won’t cry about losing.

My retirements..i would never play around with those.

And I’d say there’s a better than 50 percent chance that we see 30k by end of year.

Though there’s only a 20 percent chance of that...sorry, old Naked Gun joke :)

Earnings aren’t being SLASHED by companies. Future earnings, that is.

MOST is panic driven.

We will rock and roll SO FAST in a month or so.

[DoughtyOne]

Just told you the aftermarket had moved into positive territory for the DJ futures.

As soon as I told you that, it went down 175 points to 145 or so in negative territory.

I am the curse of death when it comes to investments.

[DIRTYSECRET]

A maximum of $50k/yr in pension retirement would save a lot. I’d make it 30k.

[dp0622]

lol

It takes 5 seconds in this current market to move back into positive territory.

1000 point moves are what 100 point moves used to be :)

That needs to settle down and will within a month or so, I think.

[DoughtyOne]

I think so too.

As people go back to work, I think it will bolster confidence
and the markets will soar.

I don’t know why I am saying this though. It’s the sure fire
way to make sure it doesn’t happen.

The curse of death I tell ya.

[NELSON111]

>>>I bought TQQQs the other day and I DO NOT recommend them as the move at the 3x the rate of the nasdaq in BOTH WAYS

Well - that's how a 3x ETF works. I just looked at my 1099 - and I traded $871,543.61 of TQQQ alone - 1800 shares on one day alone. 36 is nothing. I don't short it - I sell it and move into SQQQ or TVIX ($677,525.43 of that).

So - come on over and play with the big boys.

[DoughtyOne]

I agree with that also.

[DoughtyOne]

Congrats. Nicely played...

[dp0622]

I’m 51.

I you’re over 70..DAD!!!!!!

I’ve been looking for you my whole life!!!!

I’ll wash your car (and boat) twice a day!!!

[ConservativeMind]

Well, thank you, sir, but my sanity is in question. I did the trades in my IRA. 😁 I very rarely gamble in casinos or lotteries. I saw what looked like a very rational big upward possibility that I knew would need to be very short term for now, and tried it. My wife was aware and gave me the thumbs up. I expect to do it again, now that I better understand how they function. They do take a portion of your money to settle the trades they make and especially to buy options, so you can’t expect to get 3X on the upside, but you can be sure to get 3X and a little worse on the downside, due to that overhead cost. You have to really know the direction things are likely to go for these. With normal stocks, they always bounce back without lost monies.

[NELSON111]

I'm 51 too son - high school class of '87 - 32 years retired from the military and 100% combat disabled - but still able to do what I do - and you can still wash my car son...because apparently you need the help.

90 - 90 - 90.

[dp0622]

Your sanity is not in question at all.

You took a calculated risk with a small portion of your IRA.

It sounds like you know your business and I applaud making the move.

If volatility wasn’t built in to current options (at VERY high levels) i would be dabbling with them.

As it is, ETFs that move faster than the underlying market right now present a nice risk/reward ratio.

you sound like you know what’s up and I hope you make even more $$

[dp0622]

Hmm...so there’s no mathematical way you can be dad.

Brother!!!! Oh brother of mine!!!!

And yeah I’ll be over at noon to wash the car.

[wac3rd]

Like the old Soviet Union, the last people paid were the bureaucrats.

[NELSON111]

90 - 90 - 90

[catnipman]

as long as they didn’t panic and sell at the bottom, they’ll probably be made whole within a year ...