The money saved in the Fund is invested in a variety of vehicles, including exposure to stocks and bonds, to ensure future growth.
This enables the Fund to provide benefits, including interest credits to participants and lifetime annuities to retirees.
Interest Rates
Account balances at the Fund earn interest credits daily. Through the power of compound interest, these accounts grow steadily over time. Due to the structure of the Fund, participant retirement savings are protected from market volatility; account balances have never gone down.
Interest for the past ten years has averaged 4.6%. The table below shows average annual interest credits for periods ending 12/31/2016:
| 1 Year | 3.5% |
| 5 Years | 3.9% |
| 10 Years | 4.6% |
| 20 Years | 6.9% |
| 30 Years | 8.4% |
| Since 1922 | 6.5% |
At retirement, account balances are converted to an annuity using a 7% annuity interest rate. Compare this to lower rates available from banks and insurance companies.
Investment Performance
In addition to individual asset class and composite benchmarks, the Fund continuously compares its investment strategies and returns against similar investment vehicles and the market in general. However, unlike other investment strategies, the Fund is structured in a way that protects your account balances from market fluctuations. When you retire, your annuity is based on your account balance at that time.
Comparing Fund Investment Returns to General Market Returns (Net of All Investment Costs)
See how the Fund’s performance compares against market returns in the form of general indices for purposes of understanding relative outcomes. In other words, what is the Fund's performance in the context of the general investment environment?
| Total Portfolio | Last Quarter
Returns | 1 Year | 3 Years* | 5 Years* |
| YRF Actual Return | 4.35% | 11.93% | 4.57% | 7.07% |
| YRF Composite Benchmark | 4.29% | 11.40% | 4.71% | 6.83% |
| 65% Stocks / 35% Bonds | 4.01%
| 11.67% | 7.38% | 9.42% |
| Domestic and International Equities |
| YRF Equities | 7.45% | 16.48% | 5.78% | 9.40% |
| S&P 500 Index | 6.07% | 17.16% | 10.36% | 13.29% |
| Russell 3000 Index | 5.74% | 18.06% | 9.75% | 13.18% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 5.19% | 19.91% | 10.61% | 12.16% |
| Dow Jones U.S. Total Market Index | 6.00% | 17.70% | 9.84% | 13.12% |
| NASDAQ Composite Index | 10.13% | 22.95% | 13.54% | 15.41% |
| MSCI - All Country World - Ex US | 7.99% | 13.74% | 1.10% | 4.91% |
| MSCI-EAFE | 7.40% | 12.31% | 1.06% | 6.43% |
| Fixed Income |
| YRF - Fixed Income | 1.61% | 8.40% | 2.98% | 3.32% |
| Barclays Capital Aggregate | 0.82% | 0.44% | 2.68% | 2.34% |
| Merrill Lynch 10 Yr Treasury Bond | 0.93% | -2.57% | 3.13% | 2.28% |
| * Annualized |