"Mass. pension fund rebounds strongly; Recovery of stock, credit markets helps fuel 13 percent gain by Todd Wallack, Globe Staff | July 29, 2010
Even with the improved performance, the pension fund does not have enough money to pay the benefits owed its members.
You know, the looting, lying legislators and other "public servants" that cut themselves great deals at taxpayer expense.
As of the beginning of 2009, the fund was only 62.7 percent funded -- meaning it had 62.7 cents for every $1 owed in benefits to current and future retirees.
Massachusetts continues to pay out more in benefits than it receives in contributions from employees and the state and local governments. The net withdrawal for benefits shaved $1.5 billion from the fund's total balance in the most recent fiscal year....
I call it looting.
This article is available in our archives:
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The guy who is going to fix it all:
"Pension chief is all about results; $41b fund is healthier, but Trotsky wants better investment performance" by Beth Healy, Globe Staff | August 31, 2010
Michael G. Trotsky will have one of the biggest paychecks in Massachusetts state government: $245,000, plus bonus potential....
Trotsky would not say whether he thinks the fund could have been managed better during the downturn. He did say that some of the areas that fared poorly then are coming back strongly now. The fund posted a 12.8 percent gain for the fiscal year that ended June 30....
I'll bet your 401k didn't do that!
And think of it: they are STILL LOSING a BILLION a YEAR!
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Related: Playing With the Mass. Pension Fund
The guy he replaced:
"Pension chief says he’ll quit over pay; Cites legislative calls for bonus cap" by Steven Syre, Globe Staff | May 25, 2010
Michael Travaglini, who as head of the state’s pension fund is among the highest-paid government employees in Massachusetts, plans to quit next month, citing as a reason efforts by legislators to limit what he and his staff can earn.
In his six-year tenure as executive director, Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management ran one of the top-rated public pension funds in the nation — until last year, when losses from the financial crisis made it one of the worst.
Prior to that downturn, the pension fund’s high performance earned Travaglini a $64,000 bonus in 2008, on top of his $322,000 salary. But now he cites the legislative backlash to that bonus system as a factor in his decision to leave June 11 and go to work for a Chicago investment firm....
Under the bonus system, which Travaglini helped to create three years ago, he can make as much as 40 percent more if the pension fund exceeds certain investment benchmarks on a three-year basis. Bonuses for other pension fund employees range from 30 percent to 40 percent.
Goodbye, dirt bag scum!
Travaglini said two legislative proposals would limit such bonuses, and thus make it harder to attract and retain talent to run the state’s $44 billion pension fund.
Yeah, investors and economists are always spot on.
One would limit the ability of state workers to earn more than the governor, whose annual salary is $143,000. Another would block bonuses for the years in which the fund lost money, regardless of how it performed against its benchmarks.
Are YOU REWARDING for doing a SHIT JOB?
“Someone else can hang around for that, but it’s not going to be Mike Travaglini,’’ said Travaglini.
Byyyyyyyyyyye!!
“Most people will say, ‘Good riddance. If you want to make more money, go do it in the private sector,’ and that’s what I’m going to do. But there’s a real threat to not being able to recruit and retain competent people here.’’
YUP!
The Massachusetts pension fund has performed relatively well under Travaglini’s leadership, which started in 2004. He earned double-digit investment returns in each of his first three years.
But the fund lost 23.9 percent in the fiscal year that ended in June 2009, its worst performance ever. The fund had more invested in equities than other pension funds during a period when global stock markets plummeted because of the credit crisis and banking failures.
For that one-year performance alone, the Massachusetts fund ranked in the 99th percentile of Wilshire’s ratings....
Travaglini’s bonus plan for pension fund employees has been controversial from the start, when he initially advocated for an even richer arrangement....
I guess you know where some of those funds are going, huh?
All in an UNDERFUNDED PENSION SYSTEM!
And it ended up being EVEN LOWER than that!
Most hedge fund strategies lost money in the month, including some managers who famously made money during the financial crisis, according to a Bloomberg report....
Are you being lied to again, Massachusetts voter?
