Copyright 2004, Associated Press

CalPERS to Disclose Fees to Settle Lawsuit

(Associated Press 12/7/04) -- The nation's largest public pension fund agreed Tuesday to disclose more than $200 million in annual money management fees to settle a lawsuit by a media coalition.

The $178 billion California Public Employees Retirement System had resisted providing the information even as it called for greater disclosure in corporate governance.

But the settlement with the California First Amendment Coalition, a group run by state media executives, detailed fees paid to approximately 300 private capital firms, including some that contributed to elected officials overseeing CalPERS investments.

Peter Scheer, executive director of the San Rafael-based media coalition, said reporters and analysts for the first time can examine the data to see if CalPERS ``is negotiating incredibly good deals or is leaving a lot of public money on the table.''

The newly disclosed management fees apply to firms that oversee about $21 billion in private equity funds for CalPERS and $2 billion in more risky hedge funds.

CalPERS spokeswoman Pat Macht said the settlement fits CalPERS reputation for ``the best record of any public pension fund in the country, or the world, for disclosing a great deal on private equity.''

much money so California taxpayers were unable to see if the funds were getting the money on merit," said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition.

The public interest group brought its lawsuit against Calpers to find out if private equity funds managing the retirement system's money had also provided Calpers board members, which include elected officials, with campaign contributions, Scheer said.

"An average taxpayer would like to know if we're getting a decent return for all this money compared with other opportunities out there and if we're making these decisions on their merits or because of politics," Scheer said.