In an interesting development, I read this week that the Controller for the City of New York is upset at the fees their pension fund is paying because of a lack of performance. As someone who experienced the nonsense of this entity, my only thought is they made their bed, now they have to sleep in it. For a little more context, the fund is a monster, some $150 billion, and many large investors get contracts from it to manage different aspects of the porfolio- equities, bonds, real estate, private equity, hedge funds, infrastructure, etc. I was invited and did the obligatory work of submitting my information. Not a response or an email acknowledging my existence, thanks so much. The reality is for any fund less than a billion bucks, you are not on their radar. Still, performance is what matters in the investment world and their fund has not outperformed the indexes, which bothers the head honchos. I am sure it upsets the pension holders as well. Hard to think the fellows at Goldman, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), and Blackstone give a rip, though.
Finally, in the market this week, the deal making mood helped equities move higher. With Shell (LONDON:RDSa)'s agreed upon acquisition of BG Group (LONDON:BG), Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) buying Perrigo, and GE announcing they would sell their financing operations to fund a large $50 billion buyback, spirits have turned optimistic. I would imagine that may change at some point, much like the tides of fortune in the great city of New York.
Disclaimer: Y H & C Investments, Yale Bock, and the family of Yale Bock own positions in securities mentioned in the blog post. Investing in stocks can lead to the complete loss of your capital. As always, on any company mentioned here, past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk of losses on invested capital. One should research any investment and make sure it is suitable with your objectives, risk tolerance, risk profile liquidity considerations, tax situation, and anything else pertinent to your financial situation. Also, the CFA credential in no way implies investment returns will be superior for any charter holder.