The Michigan Municipal Employees' Retirement System is on a roll.
It's a losing roll, but quite a roll nonetheless.
$150 million in losses -- in two transactions.
The Detroit Free Press: 2 Swiss citizens caused $55M loss, municipal retirement manager says
A nonprofit corporation that manages employee pension funds for more than 1,000 Michigan local governments alleges it was defrauded out of about $55 million after entrusting the money to two Swiss citizens who weren't registered investment advisers.
The losses the Municipal Employees' Retirement System (MERS) suffered on investments in alternative energy projects — disclosed in a Sept. 30 lawsuit filed by MERS in federal court in Grand Rapids — are on top of $100 million MERS lost on a coffee-growing venture in Hawaii
That's $155 million lost in just two gonzo transactions that any responsible fiduciary would have not just walked away from, but ran.
Why a Michigan entity tried to buy and run a coffee plantation in Hawaii is very questionable, but I'm sure the trips to Hawaii to look into it were great.
Don't worry, taxpayers will likely be picking up the pension losses for the government employees who lost money due to the ineptness of other government employees.
No comments:
Post a Comment