Author Archives: Leo Kolivakis

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. First things first, let me tell my mom that I love her dearly and wish all the moms out there a Happy Mother’s Day. Now, I have put off writing this comment long enough. This is partly because analyzing this economy is not as easy I first […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. On Friday, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said that she favors a new proposal for federal regulators sharing oversight of companies that pose financial risks to the economy: SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said she’s “inclined toward” the idea floated this week by the head […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse.The New York Times reports that more states start pension inquiries: The sprawling investigation into New York’s pension investments hints at a much bigger problem than the handful of indictments so far would suggest. What started as an investigation by the New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Harvard economics professor Greg Mankiw asks: Is the White house Bullying Hedge Funds? Professor Mankiw cites prominent hedge fund manager Clifford Asness who struck back at the Obama administration, saying hedge funds had the right and responsibility to hold out on last week’s Chrysler LLC restructuring deal: […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. The new Caisse boss, Michael Sabia, got grilled on Monday at Quebec public finance committee: The new boss of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec says his goal is to learn from the mistakes made at Canada’s biggest pension fund manager and do better. Michael […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. All around the world, pension tension is growing. You’re only beginning to see what I’ve been predicting for a long time. It’s one huge mess. Here is a small sampling of global pension tension: Garth Whyte, the executive vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Following up to my last post on systemic fraud at public pension funds, Sydney Freedberg sent me her latest article, Florida investment agency uses smoke, mirrors (added emphasis and notes are mine): Front and center on its Web site, the agency that invests $118 billion for Floridians […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. New York’s Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said on Friday that his office was issuing more than 100 new subpoenas to investment firms and intermediaries who brokered deals with public pension funds, in the latest expansion of his corruption investigation: Mr. Cuomo said a preliminary review by […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. It didn’t take Michael Sabia long to shake up the ranks at the Caisse, Canada’s largest fund manager. Konrad Yakabuski of the Globe and Mail reports that Mr. Sabia is targeting risk controls: The new head of the powerful Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Following up on my last comment on CPPIB getting grilled in Ottawa, I received a few questions on benchmarks. I will elaborate on benchmarks in this post. But first, CPPIB contacted me to tell me that they posted Ms. Warmbold’s opening remarks to the Standing Committee on […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. The third meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance focusing on pensions took place on Tuesday morning, placing more senior pension executives on the hot seat. Before I continue, let’s recap what happened at the two first meetings. I went to Ottawa last week to expose the […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. The New York Times reports that the plight of carmakers could upset all pensions: Decisions that the government will make soon on the future of General Motors and Chrysler could accelerate the decline of traditional pension plans, which have sheltered generations of workers from an impoverished old […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Today is my birthday. I am now 38 years old. No big deal, it is just another Sunday for me. I woke up, had a cup of java and watched ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. There was an interesting interview with Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Writing in the Financial Post, Stephen Donald, a consulting actuary with Buck Consultants, reports on the pension killer: When I started my career in 1973, the economy promptly went into a recession. The S&P 500 fell 48% and took four years to get back to break-even. At […]

Submitted by Leo Kolivakis, publisher of Pension Pulse. Today was the second meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance focusing on pensions and it placed someone in the hot seat. You can click here to view the entire meeting in English (note French only and floor videos are available by clicking here and then clicking […]