Many thanks to John Keenan for alerting us to this story and pointing out that the Indiana Pension Vice Chair is Brett Swanson, formerly affiliated with the fossil fuel and other corporate CEO-funded fake front group The Main Street Investors Coalition (which had no connection to Main Street, Investors, or any Coalition). Indiana’s state pension…
Category: public pension funds
NYC comptroller seeks to raise pension fund cap on alternatives to 35% | Pensions & Investments
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander wants state lawmakers to increase the share of its pension fund assets that can be invested in more expensive and opaque asset classes like private equity that promise higher returns. Mr. Lander is asking Gov. Kathy Hochul and the legislature for authority to raise a cap on alternative assets…
Shareholders Press Facebook for Governance Changes – WSJ
Facebook is facing more calls from shareholders to address harm on its platforms and overall governance as the company, now known as Meta Platforms Inc., FB -1.98% responds to pressure from lawmakers and others. Shareholders, including the New York State Common Retirement Fund and Illinois State Treasurer, are among an investor group that collectively filed…
Maine $17B Pension Fund Directed To Divest From Fossil Fuels
In a U.S. first, the state of Maine has passed legislation – bill LD99 – directing the $17 billion Maine Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) to divest $1.3 billion from fossil fuels within 5 years and directs the Treasury to do the same with other state funds. The move makes Maine the first U.S. state…
New York State Pension Fund Makes $800 Million Bet on ESG Credit – Bloomberg
The New York State Common Retirement Fund put $800 million in sustainable fixed-income strategies this year, including sustainable private credit and green bonds, a rare big bet on debt in the equity-dominated market for responsible investing. The $210.5 billion public pension fund said it invested $300 million in Avenue Capital’s new Sustainable Solutions Fund, which…
Public Funds Forum 2019: Rod Rosenstein, John Kasich, and the Theranos Whistleblower
This year’s Public Funds Forum will take place September 3-5, in Park City Utah. If you are a pension fund official or trustee and would like to attend, let us know as we may still have a few spaces open. Our presenters will include: John Kasich, Governor of Ohio (2011-2019) & CNN Senior Political Commentator,…
Political Representation and Governance: Evidence from the Investment Decisions of Public Pension Funds – ANDONOV – 2018 – The Journal of Finance – Wiley Online Library
Representation on pension fund boards by state officials—often determined by statute decades past—is negatively related to the performance of private equity investments made by the pension fund, despite state officials’ relatively strong financial education and experience. Their underperformance appears to be partly driven by poor investment decisions consistent with political expediency, and is also positively…
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