Category Archives: CalPERS

Reform Candidate for CalPERS Board, Margaret Brown, Beats Incumbent Handily; Staff and Board Apparently Shell-Shocked

As the Sacramento Bee reported, In an upset, a CalPERS critic wins a seat on the pension board: Margaret Brown, a Southern California school district administrator, unseated incumbent Michael Bilbrey in a runoff election to win a seat on the California Public Employees’ Retirement System Board of Administration. Her victory on Tuesday marks an upset […]

New Study Undermines Rationale for Investing in Private Equity and CalPERS Strategy in Particular, as Oregon CIO Demonstrates that Public Pension Funds Are Dumb Money

A top private equity scholar finds her earlier work on persistence no longer holds, consigning a key industry defense to the dustbin.

Is the Sacramento Bee in the Business of Protecting CalPERS?

So why did the Sacramento Bee do CalPERS a big favor, particularly when CalPERS is clearly in the wrong?

CalPERS Corruption Watch: Chief Investment Officer Ted Eliopoulos Takes Illegal Business Solicitations From Recent Employee

On the one hand, the latest public disclosure of misconduct by CalPERS executives and staff isn’t earthshaking. On the other, it was still significant enough to merit a Financial Times story. And it also illustrates a thumb-nosing attitude toward the law that has become a CalPERS trademark. In a Financial Times FundFire article, Ex-CalPERS Exec’s […]

CalPERS’ Three Card Monte: Makes Unheard of Benchmark Change to Hide Expected Poor Private Equity Performance to Help Staff at Expense of Beneficiaries, California Taxpayers

Yet again, CalPERS is trying to use optics and dodgy reporting to cover up for real problems.

California Secretary of State Gives Unprecedented Qualified Certification for CalPERS Board Election; Vendor Everyone Counts Bars Public Viewing and Fails to Tabulate Paper Ballots as Required

Even the Secretary of State can’t bring himself to countenance CalPERS’ conduct in its recent board election.

How Naked Capitalism Got Me to Run for Office

How Naked Capitalism enabled a reader to act on promise to help those victimized by CalPERS’ bureaucracy.

CalPERS Doubles Down on Its Illegal Election, Makes “Absurd” Claim That It Is Above the Law

CalPERS refuses to change its election procedures to comply with California law, and has doubled down on ridiculous justifications instead.

CalPERS Can’t Even Figure Out How to Count Ballots in Accordance With Its Own Election Regulation, Let Alone Comply With California Law

CalPERS keeps digging its election hole even deeper.

CalPERS Board Candidate Margaret Brown Objects to Unconstitutional, Non-Secret, Insecure, Unauditable Election; Vendor Handling Phone and Internet Voting Criticized for Incompetence, Exaggerating Security of On-Line Voting

CalPERS’ election procedures would embarrass any self-respecting banana republic.

CalPERS Illegally Trying to Hide Its Scheming to Hand Over Private Equity to BlackRock

oard candidate Margaret Brown objects to CalPERS’ illegal secret discussions, most importantly, of outsourcing private equity to BlackRock.

Dow Jones Sent Mother of All Nastygrams to CalPERS Over Its Massive Copyright Infringement; New York Times Called It Outrageous, Brazen, Possibly Unprecedented

Missives from the Dow Jones and the New York Times to CalPERS confirm that the pension fund is going to have to write some very large checks.

CalPERS Runs Unconstitutional, Tamper-Friendly Election With Non-Secret Ballots

CalPERS’ new board election procedures make a mockery of the California Constitution’s requirement that voting be secret.

CalPERS Goes for Secrecy Over Returns; Exploring Paying Additional Layer of Private Equity Fees by Outsourcing to BlackRock

CalPERS is exploring having BlackRock hide its private equity problems under a costly rug.

CalPERS CIO Ted Eliopoulos Handing Off Most of His Job Duties. So Why Isn’t He Taking a $500,000 Pay Cut?

In a remarkably cheeky move, CalPERS CIO Ted Eliopoulos is fobbing off his main job duties on a subordinate. Will the sleepy board react?