Posted on 04/17/2015 1:38:19 PM PDT by redreno
Californias report said $440 million. New Jerseys said $600 million. In Pennsylvania, the tally is $700 million. Those figures are public worker pension fees being paid annually by taxpayers to Wall Street firms, and they have kicked off an intensifying debate over whether such expenses are necessary. Now, a report from an industry-friendly source says those huge levies represent only a fraction of the true amounts being raked in by Wall Street firms from state and local governments.
In all, CEM Benchmarking concludes that Americas public pension funds are paying billions of dollars in undisclosed fees to private equity firms.
Less than one‐half of the very substantial [private equity] costs incurred by U.S. pension funds are currently being disclosed, says the report from CEM, whose website says the financial analysis firm "serve over 350 blue-chip corporate and government clients worldwide."
Currently, about 9 percent -- or $270 billion -- of Americas $3 trillion public pension fund assets are invested in private equity firms. Assuming the industry standard 2 percent management fee, that quarter-trillion dollars generates roughly $5.4 billion in annual management fees for the private equity industry -- and thats not including additional performance fees paid on investment returns. But even the $5.4 billion number could be drastically understated, according to CEM
(Excerpt) Read more at ibtimes.com ...
And people wonder why people hate unions and wall street....
It’s sheeple taxpayer money for the elites.
Not a fan of NJFatboy but of course they lead the story with the pic of a Republican....
We lock up some poor bozo who steals $200 from a liquor store, while the well-connected steal billions from our families every year in taxes that go to cronie capitalists.
Do “everyday” Americans actually think the Wall street scumbags give their OWN money to the other grifter’s who live large off of the remaining taxpayer money? I have never allowed ANy of my cash to get near the fixed three card monty of Wall street....I am into tangible assets and land purchased outright,and self employment dealing in mainly cash and few personal checks....stay just above the poverty level on paper...be your own tycoon (in a sense) ...disgusting to me how many people do 401’s and other investment plans when they do not know how badly they are getting skimmed.
Tempest in a teapot. In the case of California the $400 million in fees paid on over $300 billion in assets under management is a modest fee given that the brokers returned $19.9 billion in earnings to the California Public Employees Retirement System.
If you earn me $19.9 billion this year I’d be happy to pay you $400 million for your efforts on my behalf and I’d toss in a $10 tip, too.
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