The public stock markets have been rocked this week largely due to news of the coronavirus. Historically, global financial markets have reacted negatively to other pandemic outbreaks and then moved on quickly from disease-related market pullbacks. Markets quickly resumed after other infectious diseases outbreaks: the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak in 2003, the swine flu in 2009, the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and 2018, Zika in 2016.
While the ultimate magnitude of the impact of the coronavirus remains uncertain, the important thing is: the retirement benefits of members of the Kansas City Public School Retirement System (KCPSRS) remain the same and secure.
This retirement plan is intentionally designed to
withstand investment market volatility and fluctuations. The KCPSRS investment
portfolio is diversified in various types of assets which include, not only public
stocks, but fixed income (bonds), real estate, and private investments. KCPSRS
is invested for the long-term and is well-positioned to meet shorter-term cash
flow needs to pay benefits.