Posted on 05/12/2008 4:50:09 PM PDT by John Jorsett
Something is happening at the nation's largest pension fund, the Sacramento-based California Public Employees' Retirement System, which has nearly a quarter-trillion dollars in investments ranging from real estate to stocks.
With that much money and a governing board dominated by politicians and union representatives, there have been hints that factors other than pure fiduciary responsibility often drive decisions.
Some of those other motives have been advertised – investment in low-income housing or environmentally pure ventures, for instance – while others have been all but virtually impossible to divine, since CalPERS has been a very tight-lipped shop.
The processes by which CalPERS chooses investment bankers, investment advisers, real estate developers and others who seek profitable pieces of the huge investment fund are, for example, known only to those who make the decisions.
Over the past few weeks, some rather unsettling events at CalPERS – related or not – have raised eyebrows in global investment circles.
One involves the pension fund's plunge into speculative real estate investments in the 1990s, including the riskiest such form of gamble, undeveloped land.
It seems that CalPERS joined with other investors to sink nearly a billion dollars into thousands of undeveloped acres north of Los Angeles about a year ago, hoping to cash in on the then-booming housing market. With the market's implosion, it and others may have to give the land to the venture's creditors.
CalPERS officials are dismissing the looming loss as small potatoes in the fund's $20-billion-plus real estate portfolio. But it's a warning that as it pursued higher returns from riskier investments, CalPERS has been playing financial roulette with the taxpayers' money. Major shortfalls in its earnings must be covered by state and local government treasuries.
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Interesting. Thanks John.
“project labor agreements”
“Responsible Contractor Policy”
another side effect of global warming?
Sounds like the public employee beneficiaries know too well the foxes are guarding the hens. You can't fool thieves.
Makes sense to get a small rebate since all that money originated with the Kalifornia Taxpayer. Ever see the CalPers Taj Mahal building in Scaramento?
Sounds like rats leaving a sinking ship.
bookmark
Aren’t those windfall profits?
Maybe CALPERS should be running that carbon credits scam. It certainly worked for Al “Animatronics” Gore.
Burkle may have arrange a $10 million loan from CALPERS to Hillary for her campaign ?
“One involves the pension fund’s plunge into speculative real estate investments in the 1990s, including the riskiest such form of gamble, undeveloped land.”
This had to be Bush’s fault and Global Warming caused these trusted liberals to make poor inverstments.
Of course Moonbeam our criminal AG will invesigate companies not complying with enviro whacko laws that are not on the books and turn his perverted back on the real criminals.
“Maybe CALPERS should be running that carbon credits scam. It certainly worked for Al “Animatronics” Gore.”
I would be surprised if they weren’t, haven’t or plan to.
So completely TRUE!!!
:’)
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