"2020 Public Plan Investment Update and COVID-19 Market Volatility"

Despite the market rebound, most public pension plans ended FY 2020 with investment returns that fell short of actuarial expectations.

Moreover, the March crash raised concerns about the liquidity needs of public plans, which already must sell assets to pay benefits.

In particular, alternatives are harder to value and more illiquid, which make them a poor option for selling in a downturn.

However, plans do maintain a cache of Treasuries that could be easily liquidated, so most plans are equipped to weather a sharp downturn.