The Schuylkill County retirement fund has gotten off to a slow start for 2016 because of an overall slowdown in the stock market.

But county officials are confident in their fund manager's ability to continue to produce value.The county's retirement fund has lost about $4.7 million in value since Dec. 31, according to figures from the Schuylkill County Controller's office.The county commissioners received an update on the accounts at their monthly retirement board meeting on Wednesday.Controller Christy Joy said that the pension saw its equities (stocks), which make up about two-thirds of the fund, dip about 6 percent, while fixed-income securities (bonds) were even.But he said that he has confidence in the county's fund manager, Cornerstone Advisors Asset Management, to continue to provide growth."At this point, I have faith in Cornerstone they'll provide a good return while saving our nest egg," he said.The $4.7 million figure actually only represents about 4 percent of the fund's total market value. As of Jan. 31, the county had a total of $117,444,731 in its retirement fund account.Since Jan. 1, stocks worldwide have taken a similar slide. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials are both down about 10 percent over that time.Based on its current number of employees and retirees, the county has to shoot for 7.5 percent growth in the fund each year. Cornerstone chooses a combination of stocks and bonds that hopefully meet that mark."Being that we have that large nest egg, it's nice to have that money work with us," Joy said.Joy said that the county is in better shape than many other funds because they were not as severely affected by the 2008 financial crisis. But he said they still prefer to show steady growth rather than having to catch up by taking big risks. Using a baseball analogy, Joy said he prefers hitting singles and doubles to having to hit home runs."And you definitely don't want to strike out," he said.The Schuylkill County Commissioners also voted to appoint a new member to a board that is responsible for doling out state and federal highway funds.They appointed Tony Prudenti to serve as the county's representative on the Northeastern Pennsylvania Metropolitan Planning Organization.Prudenti replaces Gary Bender, whose term runs through June 30. Prudenti currently serves as vice president of the Schuylkill County Planning Commission, and a supervisor in West Penn Township.