Uh oh! For some unknown reason, Bank of New York Mellon, which had electronically deposited $185 million in pension funds into retired NYC teachers' and staffers' accounts a few days ago, decided to withdraw the money yesterday, causing—besides overdrafts— worries, chaos, and outrage. A 70-year-old retired social studies teacher told the NY Times, "Right now I am very annoyed because I was told by the bank not to make any checks today or use my debit card." And a retired teacher's assistant fretted to the Daily News, "I was very, very upset because my husband and I depend on this money." more ›

The NY Times questions City Comptroller William Thompson's management of the NYC pension fund, reporting, "A review of how the $80 billion system has performed since he took office shows it has consistently lagged behind many of its public pension peers even as the city tripled the number of money managers it uses and the fees that it pays those firms." What's more, Thompson, who is running for mayor, has "[collected] more than $500,000 in campaign contributions from its growing roster of money managers since he first entered the 2001 race for comptroller. In some cases, the executives gave to Mr. Thompson just months before the pension funds hired them to manage tens of millions of dollars, according to interviews and public records." Thompson says that there have been tough years and that the NYC pension fund does match the Russell 3000 ("a broad stock market index")—the Times used "a widely used financial yardstick compiled by Wilshire Associates, an investment advisory firm" to measure the city's fund performance. Update: In March, the Post ran a story about Thompson's donations from investment firms that manage pension funds; the Citizens Union's Dick Dadey said, "I question why these donors feel a need to contribute. They are out-of-state donors. It certainly isn't out of civic interest because they don't vote here." more ›

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's investigation into the state and city pension funds—and how placement agents have been getting kickbacks for getting investment firms their business—is casting a wider net: Yesterday, his office issued subpoenas to 53 firms and 49 placement agents who are not licensed and registered as broker-dealers. Using an unlicensed agent could violate state and federal securities laws. Cuomo said, "The troubling pattern of unlicensed agents highlights yet another systemic weakness in New York’s pension fund, creating a situation which is fraught with peril and prone to abuse," and others states' pension funds are undergoing similar scrutiny. He is also concerned that politicians and lobbyists (who aren't registered) are trying to match up investment firms with pension funds; for instance, he has subpoenaed Patricia Lynch, a former top aide to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Silver told PolitickerNY, "Ms. Lynch left my employ in 2000. Nine years ago. So I think there's a statute of limitations. I have not spoken to her about this or any of the other events, so I have no idea except for what I read in one of the daily newspapers today." more ›