COLUMBUS, Ohio�The Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (OP&F) has joined the National Association of State Retirement Administrators and the National Council on Teacher Retirement, as well of many public pension funds throughout the nation, in an initiative expressing support of and confidence in the U.S. financial markets and its financial systems.

As part of the initiative, the following points were communicated to key federal and stock exchange officials on behalf of the retirement organizations:

We support the efforts of the federal officials and stock exchange officials and members to re-open the markets in an orderly manner. In our view, time is not of the essence, but orderliness is.
We have unqualified confidence in the U.S. financial systems and in the resilience of the U.S. financial markets.
We, as institutional investors, will continue to provide stability in the U.S. financial markets. We will remain patient long-term providers of capital.
We remain confident in the underlying strength of the U.S. economy.
We urge all other investors to remain calm when the markets re-open.
We join all of America in offering our condolences to the families, friends, and business colleagues who were personally affected by this horrible tragedy.

Created in 1965 as a result of an act passed by the Ohio General Assembly, the Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund is a multi-employer pension fund. OP&F, one of five statewide retirement systems, provides retirement and health care benefits to more than 50,000 retirees, active members, survivors and beneficiaries across the United States. OP&F currently employs 165 staff members.

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Contact: Dave Graham (614) 628-8396, dgraham@op-f.org