It’s no secret that public pension plans and their investment boards nationwide are underperforming. Blame is often assigned to the economy, over-promising politicians, unrealistic assumed rates of investment returns, and workers that retire earlier and live longer. But, is there more to the story?

“In all 50 states hard-working public employees and taxpayers supply the money for these investments. They should not be riding in the back of the bus, and in fact they should be driving the bus. ”

My research and experience shows that many pension investment boards lack vital transparency and accountability. The absence of these key principles of good governance leaves the plans vulnerable to increased risk. The inner workings of these investment boards are mysterious to outsiders; in fact these investment boards are places where enormous sums of public dollars are entrusted to a select few, but coveted by many.