| IN THE
February
9, 2009 ISSUE |
Study: Many Pension Funds Focused on Wrong
Metrics
As U.S. pension funds face increasing pressure to cover
baby boomer pensions, a new study says that they are not focusing on the
right performance metrics.
The study, conducted by MetLife, recommends that more resources be
devoted to longer term strategic thinking and performance measurements.
Such a strategy could change how pension funds monitor their commercial
real estate portfolios, which are often held for up to 10 years and are
not as easily valued on a daily or quarterly basis as stocks and bonds,
for example.
Green Lives Despite Economic Crisis
Conventional thinking might tell you that in times of
economic crisis, the last thing on institutional investors’ minds is
sustainability and green initiatives. But a new report from San
Francisco-based RREEF, “How Green a Recession? — Sustainability
Prospects in the U.S. Real Estate Industry,” makes the case that in
spite of this recession, sustainability should be a fundamental part of
any long-term investor’s strategy.
Andrew Nelson, the author of the report, leads RREEF’s sustainability
research and relies on more than 20 years of experience working in
private and public real estate investment and development. With more
than $67 billion in assets under management, RREEF is the alternative
investment management division of Deutsche Asset Management, a member of
the Deutsche Bank Group.
CalPERS loses No. 1 status, begins
furloughs
In January, the Federal Thrift Savings Plan became the
largest pension fund in the United States with $197.3 billion in assets
under management, knocking the California Public Employees’ Retirement
System off its No. 1 perch for the first time in the past decade. The
Federal Thrift Savings Plan serves federal government employees and was
established by Congress in 1986.
Adding insult to injury, CalPERS will be running reduced staffs on the
first and third Friday of each month until June 30, 2010 to comply with
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s order that all state-employed
officials be furloughed on those dates to help reduce the state’s
enormous budget deficit. The move affects CalPERS’ corporate
headquarters and regional office in Sacramento, regional offices in
Fresno, Glendale, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Jose and Walnut
Creek, and member and employer customer call centers. The furlough order
took effect on Friday, Feb. 6.
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