The Bad PlaceNBC News Top Stories | Nation’s largest public pension fund plagued by secrecy and underperformance, probe finds by Gretchen Morgenson
AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information.
An independent investigation commissioned by a nonprofit group of retirees found that CalPERS – the nation’s largest public pension fund with $630 billion in assets – is hampered by secrecy, chronic under‑performance, inflated staff compensation and hidden investment costs, especially in “zombie” private‑equity partnerships that generate fees but little return. The report placed CalPERS in the bottom 15 % of 230 U.S. public pensions over five‑ and ten‑year periods, noted that 9 % of its assets sit in aging private‑equity funds, and highlighted that several executives earn salaries between $500 k and over $1 m despite the fund’s poor results. Advocates called for an independent Inspector General with subpoena power to audit the fund’s opaque private‑equity and private‑debt holdings and to expose potential conflicts of interest, such as its long‑standing reliance on Wilshire Associates, which is owned by private‑equity firms. CalPERS’ CEO dismissed the findings as unfounded, pointing to recent performance improvements and a 35 % fee reduction, but the investigation underscored a broader concern that the pension’s lack of transparency threatens the retirement security of its 2.4 million members.
#CalPERS #RichWiggins #CommonRetirementFund #WilshireAssociates
Divest from Tesla
California Politics Huddle
Edward Hasbrouck