Ted Ballantine | Pension360

Chicago Prepares For Pension Payment Spike, Creates Account to Set Aside Funds

Chicago must pay an additional $565 million in payments to its police and fire pension fund by 2016 – a fiscal strain that hasn’t yet been budgeted for.

But the city has now taken a step towards acknowledging the looming payments, by opening up a separate account in which money will be set aside for the pension contributions.

From Crain’s Chicago:

The Emanuel administration will start setting set aside money next year in a newly segregated account for increased pension contributions for municipal employees and laborers who agreed to reforms enacted earlier this year.

The city’s increased contribution from general revenues will be set aside in the new account even though the pension payment isn’t due until 2016, according to an Emanuel spokeswoman. However, increased payments required for its police and fire pensions next year aren’t even in the budget as negotiations continue with union leaders.

[…]

While it’s largely symbolic—the city must make the payments with or without a special fund setting them aside—it’s meant to highlight that the reforms are real and going into effect soon, even as the Illinois Supreme Court agreed Dec. 10 to expedite a case testing whether public worker pensions are totally protected by the Illinois Constitution.

While a segregated fund is a responsible thing to do, “it completely ignores the fiscal irresponsibility of not budgeting for police and fire pensions,” said Amanda Kass, research director at the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability in Chicago. “It sets up the potential for a huge fiscal nightmare” when about $565 million in additional payments for next year’s police and fire pension contributions are due in 2016.

Money for the fund will come from sources other than property taxes, including money freed up by an increased surcharge for 911 calls and miscellaneous small budget cuts, the spokeswoman said. Emanuel was forced to back off his original plan to finance the city’s increased contribution with a big hike in property taxes when Gov. Pat Quinn objected.

It was originally thought that a property tax hike would be the go-to method of revenue generation to raise money for the pension payments. But Emanuel has been adamant that property taxes won’t be raised.

Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Calls For Audit of State Pension System

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is pushing for an audit of the Kentucky Retirement Systems – specifically, a review of its investment performance and policies.

Reported by the Courier-Journal:

Chamber President and CEO Dave Adkisson announced Thursday that the group wants a review of the investment performance and use of outside investment managers — among other issues — at Kentucky Retirement Systems, which has amassed more than $17 billion in unfunded liabilities.

While the state has made progress in addressing pensions, “serious problems persist that pose a significant threat to the state’s financial future,” Adkisson said. “The business community is concerned about the overall financial condition of our state.”

[State Auditor Adam] Edelen said in a statement Thursday that he shares the chamber’s concerns, but he also noted that at least three major reviews of KRS have occurred over the past few years.

[…]

KRS Executive Director Bill Thielen said officials will fully cooperate if Edelen decides to perform an audit. But also he pointed out that the system has been subject to continuous examinations, including audits, legislative reviews and a two-year investigation of investment managers by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

“None of those have turned up anything that is out-of-sorts,” he said. “A lot of the questions or concerns that the chamber seemingly raised have been answered numerous times.”

Thielen added that KRS doesn’t disclose the individual fees it pays managers because confidentiality helps officials negotiate lower rates.

State Auditor Adam Edelen said Thursday he hadn’t made a decision on whether to begin an audit of KRS. He said in a press release:

“For this proposed exam to add value and bring about real fixes to the system, it will require broad, bipartisan support and additional resources for our office to conduct the highly technical work…We have begun discussing the matter with stakeholders. No final decision has been made at this time.”

The founder of one retiree advocate group laid blame for the system’s underfunding on the state’s contributions, not investment policy, and was skeptical that the audit would yield fruitful results. Quoted in the Courier-Journal:

Jim Carroll, co-founder Kentucky Government Retirees, a pension watchdog group organized on Facebook, called the proposed audit a “red-herring” and argued that the financial problems in KERS non-hazardous are the result of year of employer underfunding.

He said KRS investments don’t yield the returns of some other systems because the low funding levels force them to invest defensively.

“I’m skeptical that anything useful would come out of another audit,” he said. “Not to say that there shouldn’t be more transparency, but that’s a separate issue.”

KRS’ largest sub-plan – KERS non-hazardous – is 21 percent funded.

CalPERS Puts Private Equity Benchmarks Under Review

CalPERS’ private equity portfolio underperformed its benchmark by 3.3 percent last fiscal year – but that’s only one of the reasons that the country’s largest public pension fund is putting its private equity benchmarks under review.

Reported by Pensions & Investments:

CalPERS’ $31 billion private equity portfolio has underperformed its policy benchmark over both long- and short-term periods, shows a review of the program, but pension fund officials feel part of the problem is that the benchmark seeks too aggressive a return and are seeking revisions.

The private equity staff review, to be presented to the investment committee Dec. 15, shows that as of June 30 the private equity portfolio produced an annualized 10-year return of 13.3%, compared to its custom policy benchmark of 15.4% annualized.

Over the shorter one-year period, CalPERS’ portfolio returned 20%, compared to the benchmark’s 23.3%; over three years, it returned 12.8% annualized compared to the benchmark’s 14.5%; and over five years, it returned 18.7% compared to the benchmark’s 23.2%.

But the report says the benchmark — which is made up of the market returns of two-thirds of the FTSE U.S. Total Market index, one-third of the FTSE All World ex-U.S. Total Market index, plus 300 basis points — “creates unintended active risk for the program, as well as for the total fund.”

California Public Employees’ Retirement System investment officials have said publicly at investment committee meetings that they feel the private equity benchmark they are shooting to outperform is too aggressive.

CalPERS manages $295 billion in assets, of which $31 billion is private equity.

Photo by rocor via Flickr CC License

Kansas Governor Proposes $40 Million Cut In State Contribution To Pension System

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has proposed a plan that would cut the state’s annual contribution to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System by $40 million this fiscal year.

The money would be used to plug budget shortfalls elsewhere.

From the Topeka Capital-Journal:

Gov. Sam Brownback defended cutting contributions to state worker retirement plans Wednesday — a necessary step, he argued, to protect education spending — as he called for an overhaul of the state’s school finance formula.

Facing opposition from some quarters of his own party, the governor acknowledged cuts to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) will slow progress made on the system over the past few years. But he pushed back against critics who had previously predicted financial trouble for the state.

[…]

As part of $280 million in cuts and fund transfers announced Tuesday, Brownback will reduce the KPERS employer contribution level to 9.5 percent, from its current level of more than 12 percent. The administration expects to save $40 million through the reduction.

Several lawmakers expressed their disappointment with the proposal. From Salina.com:

[Steven] Johnson, R-Assaria, who is chairman of the House Pensions and Benefits Committee, was “not happy” with Tuesday’s proposal by Gov. Sam Brownback to cut the state’s pension contribution this year by $40 million as part of a plan to close a $280 million shortfall in the state budget.

And he’s not alone, even among Republicans.

“There’s no easy solution,” Johnson said Wednesday, “but I’m not happy with what they’re doing with KPERS.”

[…]

Late Wednesday afternoon, Kansas Treasurer Ron Estes, who campaigned with Brownback across the state just before the November election, released a statement critical of the planned KPERS cuts.

“While I understand the need to re-balance the budget in light of unexpected shortfalls, the decision to delay state contributions to our underfunded pension system is disappointing,” Estes wrote in the statement. “By delaying action now, we run the risk of KPERS consuming an even larger amount of our state’s budget at the expense of other vital state services to Kansans in the future.”

Senate Vice President Jeff King, R-Independence, who led KPERS reform in the Senate, said, “Over the last four years, Kansas has become the model for responsible pension reform. We inherited a pension system that was going broke and returned it to fiscal health. By raiding the KPERS fund instead of continuing prudent reform, Gov. Brownback is threatening to undo all of the hard-fought gains that we have made.”

Kansas PERS manages over $14 billion in assets.

Photo by TaxRebate.org.uk via Flickr CC License

Illinois Teacher’s Pension CIO Talks Investing in Hedge Funds, Reaction to CalPERS’ Pullout

Stan Rupnik, CIO of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Illinois, sat down with Chief Investment Officer magazine for an extended interview this week.

He talks about how he increased the fund’s exposure to hedge funds and how he reacted to CalPERS’ high-profile decision to pull out of hedge funds.

Rupnik on how he increased TRS’ exposure to hedge funds after he took the CIO job in 2003:

When Rupnik arrived in 2003, he inherited control of a portfolio with no hedge fund exposure. After gaining board approval in 2006, he started with funds-of-funds. Later, after the hiring of Musick, direct investments commenced (one pities the poor funds-of-funds).

“It was the right way to start the program,” Rupnik now says. Likening it to co-investments in private equity, he comments that “with the first of anything, you feel an extra level of pressure.”

When you only have a few investments, Musick adds, it’s naturally not as diversified as it will end up, leaving the program’s future vulnerable to any upset. With a diversified hedge fund portfolio, he says, you can lose money in one or two funds and still have a phenomenal overall portfolio. Funds-of-funds solved this—for a time.

Letting go of the middlemen required “professionals on staff,” Rupnik says. Once they were in place, Illinois “could flip the model and go direct. You’re still always nervous when you change models and have one or two hedge funds in the direct portfolio—”

“—but don’t view it as sticking your neck out when you’re really behind it,” Musick adds.

“Agreed, entirely agreed,” Rupnik responds.

Rupnik on how TRS reacted, from an investment standpoint, to CalPERS’ hedge fund pullout:

No discussion of direct public plan hedge fund investing would be complete without mentioning the headwinds: namely, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). In September 2014, the fund announced that it was abandoning its Absolute Return Strategies portfolio. “Our analysis, after very careful review, was that mainly because of the complexity of the hedge fund portfolio and the cost, we weren’t comfortable scaling the program to a much greater size than it currently held,” explained newly appointed CIO Ted Eliopoulos. The reaction was swift: Hedge funds rushed to the defense, some public plan trustees hurried to follow suit, and CIOs everywhere—who know the symbolic value of CalPERS’ move—cringed.

But for Illinois Teachers’—a rose in a bed of weeds, given the state’s general public plan funding situation—the reaction was carefully judicious. “My worry isn’t so much investments or the plan or the team. What I worry about is some external force that causes some skittishness,” Rupnik says. This worry, both he and Musick assert, is decidedly present.

“I’m terrified every day,” the latter says. “I think it’s what makes us good at what we do. We’re just estimating things at the end of the day. We blend our estimates, monitor them as best we can, and structure investments to protect us as best as we can. As far as the cold sweats—I’m just super freaked out about anything. No one thing keeps me up at night.”

Read the full interview here.

For Bond Buyers, Illinois is “Problem State” Until Pension Limbo Resolved

Illinois has been in a state of pension limbo since July, when a state Supreme Court ruling on healthcare premiums hinted that the state’s pension reform law would be struck down by the courts.

Now, bond buyers are watching closely how the Supreme Court rules on the state’s pension reform law – but until then, investors are marred in “uncertainty” and are calling Illinois a “problem state”.

From The Street:

Municipal debt investors are watching the appeals process that will decide whether or not the State of Illinois’ pension reform bill ends up in the wastebasket, which would send the Land of Lincoln back to square one in its attempts to battle its pension funding crisis.

“There’s so much uncertainty there,” Daniel Solender, the lead portfolio manager for municipal bonds at investment manager Lord Abbett & Co., said by phone Wednesday. “It’s hard to know what the right valuation is [for the state’s bonds].”

So far, investors are waiting and watching. Solender noted that there hasn’t been much trading in Illinois’ bonds in response to a Nov. 21 Circuit Court decision that said the reform bill was unconstitutional. If the Illinois Supreme Court upholds that decision, Solender expects a negative effect on the state’s bond values.

“For investors to get comfortable, there has to be some idea of a plan [for pension reform], and there doesn’t seem to be one [now],” he said.

Still, he is confident that Illinois has time to work out its pension issues one way or another.

Solender and other sources are looking optimistically to Governor-elect Bruce Rauner, a Republican, to address the issue. Rauner will replace Pat Quinn, a Democrat, on Jan. 12.

Illinois’ unfunded pension liability has ballooned to $111.2 billion, according to a November report by the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. The Teachers’ Retirement System accounts for about half of that at $61.6 billion, the report said.

A June 24 report by Standard & Poor’s revealed that Illinois has, by far, the lowest level of pension funding in the country at 40.4% funded, followed by Connecticut (49.1%).

As part of a Dec. 1 panel in New York City that discussed municipal debt restructuring, William A. Brandt Jr., president and CEO of Development Specialists Inc., said that Illinois holds 43% of the public pensions in the U.S. According to Brandt, who is also the chair of the Illinois Finance Authority, those amount to some 652 public pensions.

“Illinois is your problem state,” he warned.

Moody’s gives Illinois’ credit an A3 rating – the lowest of any state.

Texas Teachers Commits $865 Million to Real Estate

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas has committed $865 million to several real estate funds that will invest in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere around the globe.

Details from IPE Real Estate:

The US pension fund approved a $465m allocation to Westbrook Partners’ UWS Co-Investment 9 venture. The manager, which did not comment, will invest in special situation opportunities on a global basis.

Westbrook is active in the US, as well as London, Paris, Munich and Tokyo.

Texas also made respective $150m and $50m commitments to Square Mile Capital Management’s Credit Partners and Tactical Partners debt funds. Square Mile declined to comment.

Credit Partners, which will raise $750m, includes a $200m co-investment by the manager.

USAA Real Estate Company, which invested in Square Mile in 2012, is understood to be behind the manager’s commitment.

Credit Partners, which is targeting 10% to 12% gross IRRs, will provide new loans, including mezzanine debt on major property asset classes, avoiding land and single-family residential.

Around 85% of capital will be invested in the US, with the remainder in Europe.

Texas Teachers also approved a $200m commitment to Almanac Realty Investors’ Securities VII, investing $100m directly into the fund and $100m into a sidecar for the same fund for co-investments. The fund focuses on US REITs and real estate operating companies.

TRS Texas manages $124 billion in assets.

Pension Funds Sue Chris Christie Over State Contribution Cut

New Jersey’s three largest pension funds filed a lawsuit against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday for slicing the state’s required pension contribution by $900 million in 2014.

The complaint can be read here.

Video: CalSTRS CIO on Corporate Governance and Splitting CEO and Chairman Roles

In this discussion, CalSTRS Chief Investment Officer Chris Ailman talks about why he thinks corporations need to have separate CEO and chairman roles – and how CalSTRS is pushing companies to divide those roles.

Illinois Supreme Court Expedites Pension Reform Appeal

The Illinois Supreme Court on Wednesday complied with a request by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to fast track the hearing over the state’s pension reform law, which a lower court found unconstitutional.

From Reuters:

The court ordered public labor unions and retiree groups challenging the law and the state to file their briefs in January and February with oral arguments to be scheduled in March. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan had asked the court last week to speed up the appeal process.

The state asked for oral arguments as early as Jan. 22 and no later than March 10 to enable Illinois’ upcoming budget to incorporate about $1 billion in cost-savings under the law, or adequate spending cuts or tax increases to offset those savings.

The pension reform law was supposed to go into effect on June 1 but was put on hold by Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John Belz in May pending his Nov. 21 ruling in five consolidated lawsuits. The state’s new fiscal year begins July 1 and the legislature usually passes a budget by May 31.

The law’s opponents asked the supreme court on Tuesday not to speed up the case.

The law raises retirement ages and suspends COLAs for some workers, and makes state contributions to the pension system enforceable by the Illinois Supreme Court.

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