CHEYENNE - State government investment income took one of the biggest hits ever last month, new figures from the treasurer's office show.

Drops in two major investment funds, offset slightly by dividend and interest income, contributed to a November loss of $22 million.

State Treasurer Joe Meyer, who oversees the investments, said that while historic, the November numbers are probably not a great cause for alarm at this point.

"Right now it's not that big," Meyer said.

The state's $11 billion investment portfolio has taken its lumps in the current national financial crisis, but until now the portfolio has generated enough income to compensate for losses.

In November, however, substantial losses in the Wyoming Permanent Mineral Trust Fund, the Common School Permanent Land Fund and other investments outstripped gains by $22 million.

Most of the losses, Meyer said, can be attributed to decisions by just a few private investment managers to sell substantial state-owned equities at considerable losses.

State figures show that the Permanent Mineral Trust Fund realized income losses of more than $32 million in November because of the untimely sales.

The Common School Permanent Land Fund, which provides funding for state institutions, lost $13 million in investment income in November.

Meyer said his office is now working with those investment managers, who handle hundreds of millions of dollars in state investments, to assure that their strategies align with state revenue needs.

"We are doing due diligence," Meyer said. "We are calling managers, saying, 'What is your strategy? What is happening?'"

Meyer added that state reserve accounts can cover losses if needed. It will be up to the Legislature next month to decide whether to dip into reserves or trim spending, he said.

"It's the Legislature's and governor's job with this additional information to figure out how they want to deal with it," Meyer said. "It's probably time to be a little more conservative."

Wyoming earned $725 million last year from its investments, one of the largest sources of state general fund revenue.

Only about half that much income is expected this year, according to October projections by the nonpartisan Consensus Revenue Estimating Group, or CREG. With the November losses, those projections could sink even further, officials said.

Rep. Frank Philp, R-Shoshoni and co-chairman of the Joint Appropriations Committee, said the November losses will almost certainly color the Legislature's spending decisions when it meets in January.

"I'm sure it will, because it's not good news," Philp said. "I think (lawmakers) are already concerned about where the economy is headed in Wyoming."

The November figures are only the latest down news for state investments.

Last month, the state announced that its investment portfolio had lost $1 billion in market value.

Earlier this month, officials reported that the market value of the Wyoming public employee pension fund is down 25 percent, from about $6.2 billion at the end of June, to about $4.7 billion at the end of October.

Contact capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 637-1244 or jared.miller@trib.com.