New York Post
The city is rolling the dice with its pension funds - tossing up to $1.1 billion into risky hedge funds in the middle of a Wall Street crisis.
"It's the crap shoot of all crap shoots," said a former top city official familiar with the pension systems.....
....Trustees of the New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS) - who include Finance Commissioner Martha Stark, representing Mayor Bloomberg, Comptroller Bill Thompson, and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, borough presidents and union leaders - voted unanimously to go with the gamble, sources said.
Hedge funds are non-regulated, heavily traded pools of assets that invest in everything from oil wells and art to government bonds. They aim to outperform the regular stock and bond market, but they're also more apt to go bust.....
... funds, but some have come up snake eyes. The San Diego County pension fund lost $85 million after investing in a Greenwich, Conn., hedge fund that collapsed in 2006. New York is "going in at a time when many people are going out," said Larry Harris, ...
...."You have to wonder why they're buying into them, because it is dangerous."
NYCERS is the largest of the city's five employee pension funds, which totaled $104.7 billion as of June 30. They plunged in value a total 8.5 percent, to $95.9 million, in the third quarter this year, Thompson said last week. He did not divulge losses in October, which was a disastrous month for Wall Street.
NYCERS is the largest of the city's five employee pension funds, which totaled $104.7 billion as of June 30. They plunged in value a total 8.5 percent, to $95.9 million, in the third quarter this year, Thompson said last week. He did not divulge losses in October, which was a disastrous month for Wall Street.
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