Excerpt:
For nearly two decades, alternative investment managers have been permitted to handle public pension money while they refuse to play by the rules applicable to these funds and submit to public scrutiny.
Wall Street alternative managers have successfully argued that the very same investment information widely distributed to wealthy individuals somehow amounts to “trade secrets” exempt from public records laws… when requested by state workers.
While it’s not surprising Wall Street’s biggest gamblers want to keep investors in the dark as to their misdeeds, it’s unconscionable that STRS Ohio and other public pensions around the nation are willing to abandon transparency, exposing workers to unfathomable risks and jeopardizing their retirement security.
Alternative investment managers may seek to keep secrets, but it’s no secret what’s often in these well-guarded documents: excessive and illegal fees; outrageous conflicts of interest and self dealing; fiduciary breaches and outright violations of law—even criminal conduct. For example, eight years ago the SEC staff found that a majority of private equity firms inflate fees and expenses charged to companies in which they hold stakes.
Author(s): Edward Siedle
Publication Date: 9 Nov 2021
Publication Site: Forbes