Pension Funds

In 2005, California real estate mogul Terry Fancher wanted to entice public pension systems to place hundreds of millions of dollars in investment funds he managed. Bypassing seasoned Wall Street advisors such as Morgan Stanley or Credit Suisse First Boston, he turned to Darius Anderson, a young and ambitious Sacramento lobbyist known in the Capitol for his political connections and fundraising prowess.

A Los Angeles investment firm run by a well-known Southern California political operative has become ensnared in a widening probe into the fees paid to advisors who help place investments in public pension funds. Wetherly Capital Group has come under scrutiny for a $313,750 payment it made to a firm run by a New York political advisor who was arrested last month on charges of running a kickback scheme involving New York state's pension fund.

Last week, Fred Buenrostro, chief executive of the California Public Employee Retirement System since 2002, announced he was stepping down. Buenrostro's move came on the heels of the departure of Russell Read, CalPERS' chief investment officer, who told the organization's board two weeks ago that he was moving into the private sector. Leadership changes at public institutions occur all the time.

Orange County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to place a measure on the November ballot letting voters decide if future pension increases for county government workers should be put to a public vote. If approved by voters as part of the Nov. 4 general election ballot, the measure would amend the county's charter to require that retirement benefit increases for county workers be approved by a majority of voters, with a study of the benefits' cost published in ballot pamphlets.

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission is investigating whether laws were violated by a former city department head who took a job with a Los Angeles-based investment company less than three months after his agency acted to benefit the firm, according to sources familiar with the probe. Although ethics officials declined to confirm or deny the inquiry, several sources say investigators have asked about Robert Aguallo Jr.

The top executive at Los Angeles' largest municipal pension fund wasted little time last spring jumping from his government post to a private sector job -- one that required him to drum up business from agencies like the one he had just left. On May 5, Robert Aguallo Jr. e-mailed his resignation to the chairman of the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System.

Argentina's incendiary new plan to nationalize billions of dollars in private pension funds spooked already jittery investors Wednesday and helped spark the second consecutive day of double-digit percentage declines in stock markets. The new doubts about Argentina come as fears of a global recession have pummeled Latin American stocks, bonds and currencies. Many people are concerned that the relative prosperity and brisk growth of recent years may be over.

Mazal Shachar's computer screen at First International Bank of Israel gives a dismal, up-to-the-minute picture of the country's financial markets. The bookkeeper can earn her salary and watch her nest egg shrink at the same time. As the global financial crisis hits Israel, older workers such as Shachar, 64, a single mother who saved for four decades and thought she was a year away from a comfortable retirement, are feeling the pain.

New York's pension funds asked Home Depot Inc., Blockbuster Inc. and Par Pharmaceutical Cos. to let shareholders vote on whether they approved of top executives' pay packages. The formal proposal submitted by New York City Employees' Retirement System trustees, including City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, would allow investors in the three companies to cast a vote of no confidence in management.

Although out of office for two months, former Assemblyman Keith Richman is still sounding the alarm about the "ticking time bomb" effect of public employee pensions, calling it the greatest fiscal issue facing the state. Richman told a group of Ventura County taxpayers advocates Tuesday that unless changes are made, the pension debt will overwhelm the state's ability to fund higher education, build roads and develop technology.