Cali. pension fund admits board member took $50 mil. in fees to make bad investments

Wall Street Journal – Calpers Rocked by ‘Pay to Play’:

America’s largest public-pension fund, Calpers, revealed that a former board member had reaped more than $50 million in fees for arranging investments that could saddle state taxpayers with hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

The disclosure deepens concerns that alleged conflicts of interest are undermining state retirement funds.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System said it is launching a “special review” into payments by money managers — including billionaire Leon Black’s Apollo Management LP — to firms including Arvco Financial Ventures LLC. Arvco is headed by Al Villalobos, who served on Calpers’s board from 1993 to 1995.

Via W.C. Varones, who has a roundup of his past coverage of the California pension fund’s malfeasance.

Previously

• CalPERS actuary says pension costs “unsustainable”
• California pensions loses 23% of assets, managers get millions in bonuses
• CalPERS plans riskier bets to recoup losses on previous risky bets
• California pension funds lose $100 billion in a year