Forbes Magazine Blasts Raimondo - “‘Reform’ Looks More Like Wall Street Feeding Frenzy”
Friday, April 05, 2013
An article in Forbes magazine by columnist Edward "Ted" Siedle, blasts Gina Raimondo's pension reform claims.
Raimondo has received praise from a range of business interests across the country as well as by leading business press like the Wall Street Journal.
Siedle wrote in his column, "A look behind the curtain reveals her changes to the investment portfolio of the $7 billion Employee Retirement System of the State of Rhode Island will inevitably dramatically increase both risk and fees paid to alternative investment managers, such as hedge funds and private equity firms."
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAs GoLocal previously unveiled, Raimondo has raised millions of dollars outside of Rhode Island, including hundreds of thousands from top Wall Street firm executives.
Point Judith
Previous to running for General Treasurer, Raimondo served as a partner in a venture capital firm. The firm originally established in 2001 to fund Rhode Island start-up companies, ultimately changed its focus and invested the majority of its dollars in companies outside of Rhode Island. Point Judith Capital left Rhode Island after Raimondo took office in 2011.
The firm did receive state funding while she was a partner and Forbes' Siedle writes, "Performance of Point Judith II. The pension committed $5 million in 2007 to a Point Judith II venture fund managed by the soon-to-be Treasurer. Someone should take a close look at the merits related to the decision to invest in Point Judith II, e.g. the track record of the venture manager, or fund; how the investment partnership performed (audited financials) after purchase by the pension and how Rhode Island is treated vis-à-vis the other investors in the fund at redemption/liquidation. It appears that the state pension stopped disclosing the names of its private equity holdings on its website after October 2012. That’s the last time Point Judith II shows up as a private equity holding."
