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Are you a Retired or Active SF City Worker?
Concerned About What's Happening to Workers' Pensions?

SF considering sinking 15% of City Retirement Fund Assets in Hedge Funds!

Please come or write to express your opposition to this risky plan
which could lead to another pension fund crisis.

Meeting of SF Employees' Retirement System Board (SFERS)
Wednesday, February 11, 1 PM
1145 Market St, 6th Floor
(Across Market St. from UN Plaza, betw 7th & Hyde, Civic Center BART)

Gray Panthers opposes SFERS investing 15% of its assets in hedge funds, and
hiring special money managers to manage them.  Hedge funds:

  • are HIGH RISK,  inappropriate for Pension Plans for fixed-income retirees.
  • use high-fee managers, costing SFERS up to $100 million/year in fees.
  • are un-transparent.  Pension systems with money in Hedge funds usually go into closed session to discuss these investments, and to get reports from their money managers, whose reports are confidential, and not released to the public, or ordinary pension system members.

CalPERS, the country's largest Public Pension Fund, had only 1.5% of its assets in hedge funds,
but is exiting them because of excessive fees, lack of transparency, and mediocre returns.

Angeles Investment Advisors, SFERS' general consultant recommending the hedge funds,
runs a Cayman Islands hedge fund, a conflict of interest.

SFERS has not responded to a letter of concerns by members of SEIU 1021.

Read more, Kathleen Pender article in SF Chronicle

 

A recent Gray Panther Newsletter article said:

Keep Our Pensions Out of Hedge Funds

For several months retirees of the City & County of SF have been fighting off a plan by the CIO William J. Coaker to invest 15% of our San Francisco Employees' Retirement System (SFERS) pension money into hedge funds. Hedge funds are considered high risks and even other pension fund investors are getting out of them! Retirees have pointed out the well-known problems of investing in hedge funds: lack of available pension fund monitors, exorbitant fees, no transparency— as one trustee in Kentucky’s retirement system said, “I was not even allowed to see the contracts.”

The National Assoc. of State Retirement Administrators reports about 1/4 of all pension funds are in riskier investments—hedge, venture capital. Public officials in recent years have shifted workers’ pension money into hedge funds. However, California Public Employees' Retirement System (CALPERS) announced it will divest its entire $4 billion of hedge funds. SF pension funds records reveal prior investments into a hedge fund program lost $61 million and $35 million in fees of retiree money. If you are a SF City & County retiree, or anyone not wanting SF money in hedge funds, email Jay.Huish@sfgov.org

 

 

 

SF Gray Panthers,  2940 16th St, Rm 200-3,  San Francisco CA 94103
415-552-8800,  graypanther-sf@sonic.net         
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