[OccupyCU] Fw: [New post] Public pension theft is a national scandal. A story that goes way beyond one state.

[David Johnson]

WordPress.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Fred Klonsky 
To: davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net 
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 7:16 PM
Subject: [New post] Public pension theft is a national scandal. A story that goes way beyond one state.


      Fred Klonsky posted: " David Sirota, Pando Daily Thanks to confidential documents exclusively obtained by Pando, we can now see some of the language and fee structures in the agreements between the “alternative investment” industry and major public pension funds. Taken t" Respond to this post by replying above this line 
                       
                        New post on Fred Klonsky    

                                  Public pension theft is a national scandal. A story that goes way beyond one state.
                                by Fred Klonsky  


                              David Sirota, Pando Daily

                              Thanks to confidential documents exclusively obtained by Pando, we can now see some of the language and fee structures in the agreements between the “alternative investment” industry and major public pension funds. Taken together, the documents raise serious questions about whether the government employees, trustees and politicians overseeing major public pension funds are shirking their fiduciary responsibilities under the law when they are cementing “alternative” investment deals.

                              The documents, which were involved in a recent SEC inquiry into the $14.5 billion Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS), were handed to us by SEC whistleblower Chris Tobe, an investment consultant and former trustee of the KRS. Tobe has also written a book — “Kentucky Fried Pensions” — about the scandalous state of the Kentucky public pensions system.

                              The documents provided by Tobe (embedded below) specifically detail Kentucky’s dealings with Blackstone – a giant Wall Street investment firm which has deployed a platoon of registered lobbyists in Kentucky and whose employees are major financial backers of Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R).

                              The Blackstone-related documents, though, don’t just tell a story about public pensions in Kentucky. The firm, which just reported record earnings, does business with states and localities across the country. The Wall Street Journal reports that “about $37 of every $100 of Blackstone’s $111 billion investment pool comes from state and local pension plans.”

                              In one set of documents provided by Tobe, Blackstone’s payment structure is outlined, with language guaranteeing that Blackstone will receive its hefty annual management fees from the taxpayer – regardless of the fund’s performance.

                              In other documents, public pension money is exempted from some of the most basic protections usually guaranteed under federal law. Other contract language appears to license Blackstone to engage in financial conflicts of interests that could harm investors.

                              Despite the documents involving government agencies, and taxpayer money, they are all marked confidential. The public is not allowed to see them.

                              Tobe says the sheer size of Blackstone – and its attendant ability to set industry standards - means that the documents he obtained represent a story that goes way beyond one state.

                              Read the entire article here.
                              Fred Klonsky | May 5, 2014 at 7:16 pm | Categories: Pension theives | URL: http://wp.me/p4C3g-9dX 
                                Comment    See all comments 

                             
                       
                        Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Fred Klonsky.
                        Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. 

                        Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: 
                        http://preaprez.wordpress.com/2014/05/05/public-pension-theft-is-a-national-scandal-a-story-that-goes-way-beyond-one-state/ 
                       
                 
                 
           
            Thanks for flying with  WordPress.com  

     
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/occupycu/attachments/20140506/7b051cfa/attachment.html>