Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • LOGIN
  • Subscribe
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Face to Face
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2023 Defined Contribution East
    • 2023 ESG Investing
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. ALTERNATIVES
September 11, 2014 01:00 AM

San Francisco board delays hedge fund vote again

Board members demand hedge fund names in 90 days

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Board members at San Francisco City & County Employees’ Retirement System delayed a vote Wednesday on a plan to implement a hedge fund program for the second time in three months as they debated whether the investment is too risky.

    But board members at the $20.6 billion pension fund insisted that they would make a final decision in 90 days on Chief Investment Officer William Coaker Jr.’s plan to create a 15% allocation to hedge funds. Mr. Coaker’s plan also reduces fixed income to 17% from 25%, global equities to 28% from 47% and adds a new alternative equity allocation of 12%.

    Board members at a June 11 meeting had delayed voting on the program that Mr. Coaker first proposed in early 2014, and asked him and the pension fund’s general consultant, Angeles Investment Advisors, to provide a detailed report documenting the merits of a hedge fund program.

    Mr. Coaker gave board members the report Wednesday, with more than 100 pages of documents, supporting his view that hedge funds would produce investment results on an annualized basis better than global equity and low-yielding core fixed-income securities.

    But board members demanded more information Wednesday, including the names in 90 days of the exact hedge funds in which Mr. Coaker plans to invest. Mr. Coaker said he plans to hire an internal hedge fund portfolio manager to run the program and help select funds in concert with a consultant.

    SFERS Executive Director Jay Huish told the board the job was offered to a candidate, but he refused because the pension fund has not yet agreed to implement the program.

    Mr. Coaker repeatedly came to the defense of his proposal Wednesday during a more than three-hour discussion, insisting that hedge fund investments would help avert a financial disaster for the pension fund if there was another global financial meltdown.

    He insisted a properly run program could pick the best funds. Answering board members’ concerns, Mr. Coaker said the program would insist that hedge managers have a high level of transparency.

    He said fraud also could clearly be avoided with proper due diligence. Citing Bernard Madoff, the former hedge fund manager who was convicted of running a massive Ponzi scheme, Mr. Coaker said any investor who had done proper checks would have realized that something was wrong with his consistently high returns.

    Only one board member, Herb Meiberger, was absolutely opposed to the hedge fund program; the other six members went back and forth in discussions on whether to support the program.

    Board member Leona Bridges suggested a compromise of starting with an initial 5% allocation, which elicited some support from other board members.

    Related Articles
    San Francisco CIO proposes major asset allocation overhaul
    Buffett's suggestion to pension fund trustee: Don't invest in hedge funds
    SFERS CIO has failed to make a credible case for hedge funds
    San Francisco tables hedge fund discussion for 90 days
    San Francisco City & County commits $250 million, terminates 2 real estate mana…
    San Francisco pension fund puts off hedge fund vote
    San Francisco board expected to reject 15% hedge fund allocation proposal
    San Francisco likely to stay out of HF deep end
    Recommended for You
    FS Investments and Portfolio Advisors ink deal to create $73 billion alternatives manager
    FS Investments and Portfolio Advisors ink deal to create $73 billion alternatives manager
    ONLINE_190529857_AR_0_WWPEWVXMXAAN.jpg
    Alternative assets generally saw a banner year in 2022 – Preqin
    Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments LLC
    Ariel Alternatives raises $1.45 billion to fund diverse company founders
    The Institutional Investor's Guide to ESG Investing
    Sponsored Content: The Institutional Investor's Guide to ESG Investing

    Reader Poll

    January 25, 2023
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Show Me the Income: Discovering plan sponsor and participant preferences for cr…
    The Future of Infrastructure: Building a Better Tomorrow
    Outlook 2023: Opportunity in a volatile world
    Research for Institutional Money Management
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    December 12, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Face to Face
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2023 Defined Contribution East
      • 2023 ESG Investing