Forcing Green Politics on Pension Funds

The Wall Street Journal ^ | November 18, 2015 | Andy Kessler

[JeepersFreepers]

Last month the Obama administration's Labor Department issued Interpretive Bulletin 2015-01, which tells pension funds what factors to use when choosing investments, including climate change. Only a few tax lawyers noticed, but with U.S. pensions at $9 trillion, this is a gross power grab that will hurt the retirees it claims to protect.

This government is essentially saying: Don't you dare invest in anything that causes or is hurt by climate change, or you'll be sued for failing your fiduciary responsibilities. Energy, utilities and industrials are 20% of the market. How can pension funds now own any of them?

Pushing politics on retirement funds will destroy returns. One little secret on Wall Street is that Erisa rules drive hedge funds to avoid pension money. It slows them down. As pension funds divest, hedge funds and other managers will gladly buy up undervalued climate-challenged companies.

[JeepersFreepers]

Sub-headline: Obama's Labor Department Wants Retirement Portfolios to Divest their Fossil-fuel Holdings.

The Obama nightmare never ends. Now pension funds insured by Erisa will be forced to consider climate change as a primary investment criteria in lieu of maximizing investment returns.

If the link does not provide the entire article, Google the title.

[Logical me]

Destruction of Americans is still King Obama and his communists empire and is still happening. And will happen far beyond his being kick out of the White House because these things will take time to correct if ever.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

From here, it’s only a short hop to forcing all pensions to invest in bogus “socially responsible” companies. Eventually you’ll only be allowed to invest in companies that make products for brown and black people.

[Foundahardheadedwoman]

The Feds will fight any court action because they have unlimited amounts of money, therefore they will never stop fighting anyone who goes up against them. It is to late for legal means to correct these problems, it is time for the Jefferson’s tree to be watered.

[MSF BU]

Superb piece by the WSJ; they should stick to pensions rather than immigration.

[The Antiyuppie]

I’m 100% in favor of this. Let’s first try it out on Federal, state, and local government pensions for 10 years, but remove any taxpayer-funded “insurance” on those pensions.

[taildragger]

Does anyone here talk to Financial Pro's post Dodd Frank? Disclose this, don't do that, check your bank account without you knowing, no separate emails even for a hobby. Have you ever known an actual fiduciary for a Pension Fund? I did a while back, it was a part time gig for an insurance agent I knew ( full financial planner but didn't work it ) and loved it. They tried to mimic large indexes with low risk. With that said, if he was still doing that duty do you realize how difficult you just made his life?

How about Utilities and like Dividend Generating Companies? If Utility "X" doesn't accept this Cass Sunstein "Nudge" and put in more friggen windmills or solar panels they are now the metaphorical equivalent of a Value Line 1 - 1 rating, in other words, they are screwed.

I have been saying it for the last 7 years, BHZero has been trying to de-capitalize anyone with capital. This is aimed at retiree's / investors in ole' fashioned blue chips that drive off a dividend. How dare you get a dividend, you didn't build that. This is also a regulatory stick to de-industrialize, part of the "de-growth" movement.

We Conservatives have been outplayed, and America is in Freakin' Shambles...

[Beagle8U]

Same article...without the pay-wall...

http://pension360.org/forcing-green-politics-on-pension-funds/

[MSF BU]

Excellent!!! Superb idea. Almost as good as putting the USSC on Obamacare.

[Buckeye McFrog]

They’re getting ready to pull the trigger on the Theresa Ghilarducci “force us all at gunpoint into one giant national pension fund” scheme anyway. So this may be moot.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Dividends = White Privilege.

[PATRIOT1876]

They're STILL ginning up nonsense about climate change?!?!?!

It seems like there are billions of other topics more important than the sad streetwalker of junk science to be talked about.

Of all the debunked, foolish, Socialist, illogical, destructive, evil, hoaxes, Climate Change “science” takes the cake.

Remember, any time you see Bill Nye the Anti-Science Guy's lips moving, he's lying.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Global Warming PING!

[Brad from Tennessee]

Years ago it was stylish for Blue State public employee pension funds and labor union funds to hold big chunks of Times Company (NYT) stock. Then in 2004 it began to slowly slide—going from $49 to as low as $5 in 2011 then leveling off to $14 where it is today. These funds should be managed by private firms motivated by a desire to grow their clients’ holdings rather than some partisan agenda.

[Intolerant in NJ]

...sued for failing your fiduciary responsibilities...their primary fiduciary responsibilities are keeping the pension funds financially sound for the pensioners - screw the greenie weenies.....