the following tables present a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs ( level 3 ) for 2017 and 2016 , respectively: .

level 3
balance as of january 1 2017
$ 140
actual return on assets
2
purchases issuances and settlements net
136
balance as of december 31 2017
$ 278

purchases , issuances and settlements , net .
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( 4 ) balance as of december 31 , 2016 .
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$ 140 the company 2019s postretirement benefit plans have different levels of funded status and the assets are held under various trusts .
the investments and risk mitigation strategies for the plans are tailored specifically for each trust .
in setting new strategic asset mixes , consideration is given to the likelihood that the selected asset allocation will effectively fund the projected plan liabilities and meet the risk tolerance criteria of the company .
the company periodically updates the long-term , strategic asset allocations for these plans through asset liability studies and uses various analytics to determine the optimal asset allocation .
considerations include plan liability characteristics , liquidity needs , funding requirements , expected rates of return and the distribution of returns .
strategies to address the goal of ensuring sufficient assets to pay benefits include target allocations to a broad array of asset classes and , within asset classes , strategies are employed to provide adequate returns , diversification and liquidity .
in 2012 , the company implemented a de-risking strategy for the american water pension plan after conducting an asset-liability study to reduce the volatility of the funded status of the plan .
as part of the de-risking strategy , the company revised the asset allocations to increase the matching characteristics of fixed-income assets relative to liabilities .
the fixed income portion of the portfolio was designed to match the bond-like and long-dated nature of the postretirement liabilities .
in 2017 , the company further increased its exposure to liability-driven investing and increased its fixed-income allocation to 50% ( 50 % ) , up from 40% ( 40 % ) , in an effort to further decrease the funded status volatility of the plan and hedge the portfolio from movements in interest rates .
in 2012 , the company also implemented a de-risking strategy for the medical bargaining trust within the plan to minimize volatility .
in 2017 , the company conducted a new asset-liability study that indicated medical trend inflation that outpaced the consumer price index by more than 2% ( 2 % ) for the last 20 years .
given continuously rising medical costs , the company decided to increase the equity exposure of the portfolio to 30% ( 30 % ) , up from 20% ( 20 % ) , while reducing the fixed-income portion of the portfolio from 80% ( 80 % ) to 70% ( 70 % ) .
the company also conducted an asset-liability study for the post-retirement non-bargaining medical plan .
its allocation was adjusted to make it more conservative , reducing the equity allocation from 70% ( 70 % ) to 60% ( 60 % ) and increasing the fixed- income allocation from 30% ( 30 % ) to 40% ( 40 % ) .
the post-retirement medical non-bargaining plan 2019s equity allocation was reduced due to the cap on benefits for some non-union participants and resultant reduction in the plan 2019s liabilities .
these changes will take place in 2018 .
the company engages third party investment managers for all invested assets .
managers are not permitted to invest outside of the asset class ( e.g .
fixed income , equity , alternatives ) or strategy for which they have been appointed .
investment management agreements and recurring performance and attribution analysis are used as tools to ensure investment managers invest solely within the investment strategy they have been provided .
futures and options may be used to adjust portfolio duration to align with a plan 2019s targeted investment policy. .

Question: by how much did the balance increase from the beginning of 2017 to the end?
Answer: 98.57%

Question: what was the growth in the account balance in 2017