Category Archives: Investment management

CalPERS’ Bad Numbers: CEO Marcie Frost’s Multi-Hundred Thousand /Year Advisor Randle Communications Missing from Board Reports

A remarkable series of accidents led to the CalPERS board not being told how much CEO Marcie Frost’s advisor Randle Communications costs.

Another Compliance Failure: CalPERS Discussed Recusal of Ex-CIO Ben Meng but Failed To Enforce It; CEO Marcie Frost Says “Not My Job”

CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost told the press that she’s punting on her compliance duties.

CalPERS Staff Yet Again Tries to Usurp Board’s Power by Steering Governance Reforms After CIO Ben Meng Departure

CalPERS staff is too obviously still trying to stymie Controller Betty Yee’s governance reforms.

State Controller Betty Yee Calls for Public Discussion of CalPERS Governance Reforms Following Sudden Departure of CIO Ben Meng

Controller Betty Yee forcefully slapped down CalPERS’ CEO Frost’s claim that Yee was satisfied with the burial of Yee’s governance issues.

22 Year Study Finds Hedge Fund Managers Collect 64% of Investors’ Gross Returns

Hedge fund managers claw an awful lot in fees out of their investors but the reasons look to be different than for private equity.

How CalPERS Staff Keeps the Board in the Dark About Compliance Problems

CalPERS has long covered up its dirty linen, including by making uninformative presentations to the board.

Influential CalPERS Retiree Group Demands Resignation of Board President Henry Jones; Calendars Confirm Secret “Board Within Board” Abuse

CalPERS governance has become so visibly defective that a normally loyal retiree organization has gone into revolt.

CalPERS Board Member Theresa Taylor, Under Investigation for Multi-Year Failure to Report Income, Digs Her and CalPERS’ Hole Deeper Via Supporting Conflicted Actions Taken by Ex-Chief Investment Officer Meng

CalPERS’ Board Vice President Theresa Taylor shoots herself and CalPERS in the foot.

World Bank’s ‘Mobilizing Finance for Development’ Not Financing Development

The World Bank is trying to rebrand a failed public private partnership scheme as “blended finance”. Developing countries, beware.

The Wealth of Corporations: Why Firms Have Zero Net Worth, and Why It Matters

A theory of net worth and what that means for measurements of wealth.

Looting, American Style: CEOs Get Big Pre-Bankruptcy Bonuses Even When Lenders and Employees Stiffed

Failed CEOs succeed in looting their companies on the verge of bankruptcy filings.

Has CalPERS Come Clean With Its Board Over Pending $500 Million Carlyle Deal, Tainted by Ownership of Carlyle Shares by Departed CIO Ben Meng?

CalPERS needs to come clean about its Ben Meng mess. A pending Carlyle transaction shows it’s still in cover-up mode.

Brawl Over Mayberry v. KKR: Big Hearing Monday Over One Contested Issue, Whether Attorney General Can Intervene in Kentucky Retirement Systems Case

The next phase of Mayberry is set to be particularly scrappy as lawyers joust for position.

CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost Moonlights? Implausibly Denies Relationship With Top Speakers’ Bureau

CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost does not appear to have a good grasp of the conflict-of-interest rules that apply to her role.

CalPERS Preliminary Returns Inconsistent with Other CalPERS Data; CalPERS Refuses to ‘Splain Even Though It Ought to be Easy

CalPERS has yet to clear up an anomaly in its reported preliminary returns.