N.Y. Teachers puts State Street on its watch list
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The New York State Teachers' Retirement System, Albany, placed State Street Global Advisors on its investment manager watch list because the firm has underperformed three of the last four quarters, confirmed Candace Ronesi, a spokeswoman for the fund.
SSgA manages a $609 million international equity portfolio for the $68 billion retirement system. The firm makes active country decisions but invests passively in the stock market, Ms. Ronesi said.
SSgA Principal John Grady corroborated the past underperformance, but said SSgA's performance so far this quarter had improved.
Dutch fund loses bid to not pay U.S. taxes
WASHINGTON -- A U.S. appeals court in Washington ruled that Stichting Pensioenfonds Voor de Gezondheid, a Dutch multiemployer pension fund, could not "unambiguously" prove that it is a labor organization. The fund is therefore not exempt from paying taxes on U.S. income. In its Nov. 14 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a decision by a lower court.
The appeals court's ruling means the Dutch pension fund has little chance of collecting an $8.5 million tax refund from the Internal Revenue Service, short of an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Fund officials are studying the decision to determine what, if any, steps they will take, said K. Peter Schmidt, a partner in the Washington law firm of Arnold & Porter, who represented the fund.
Bill would drop forced IRA withdrawals
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jim Saxton, R-N.J., introduced a bill Nov. 14 that would end the forced withdrawal of retirement savings by Americans 70 1/2 and older. Under current law, retirees withdraw their money from individual retirement accounts once they hit that age.
