Essentially, aspiring gubernatorial candidate (and current State Treasurer) Richard Moore received roughly $700,000 in campaign donations connected to investment firms that managed the state’s $74 billion pension fund.
What caught my eye, in addition to the “pay for play” appearance was Moore’s defense. While the contributions aren’t illegal, the net result of his actions should be called into question.
For the fiscal year ended June 30th, the state’s funds, directed by Richard Moore to his donors, fell just shy of 7.25% in returns. That is pretty good, but the Median performance during the same period was 9.44%.
In short, the state’s retirement money UNDERPERFORMED to the tune of $1.6 billion. One has to wonder how objective Moore was and whether he was acting in the state’s interest or his own. Or maybe the state’s 700,000 workers are ok underperforming the median with their money.
Additionally, Moore started in office with 15 fund managers and has increased that to 92. Those managers received $111 million in fees last year alone. More details here.
