Pennsylvania state Treasurer and Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System board member Rob McCord wrote an open letter to Gov. Tom Corbett urging the replacement of SERS Chairman Nicholas Maiale, confirmed Gary Tuma, a spokesman for Mr. McCord.
In his letter, Mr. McCord said recent charges of improper conduct by the SERS Chief Investment Officer Anthony S. Clark — who recently announced his intention to retire from the Harrisburg-based $25.7 billion pension fund — as well as overall management and investment practices at the agency under Mr. Maiale, make changes at the top imperative.
“These charges not only implicate SERS’ chief investment officer, but also explicitly include the chairman and the process by which investment opportunities are identified and vetted, and also the veracity with which they are presented to the board for approval,” Mr. McCord wrote.
Mr. Tuma said in an interview that even though Mr. Clark has offered his letter of retirement and the SERS board accepted it, Mr. McCord still has concerns over the board’s levels of transparency under Mr. Maiale’s leadership.
Joshua Maus, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Office of the General Counsel, said in an e-mail that the OGS “ensured that SERS was properly positioned to safeguard its fiduciary responsibilities, while at the same time preserving the integrity and thoroughness of any subsequent investigation of the allegations.”
Neither Mr. Maiale nor the governor’s office returned calls seeking comment by press time.
The full letter is available on the treasurer’s website
