OMERS Trustees Needed, Finance Novices Need Not Apply

(August 2, 2013) – Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) is seeking new trustees for two of its pensions, but interested applicants had better sharpen up their No. 2 pencils.

Candidates for either OPSEU’s own retirement trust or the union’s municipal board must be members of OPSEU, and submit to a written test.

“With the challenges facing defined benefit pension plans, we need people who have a firm and deep commitment to the labor movement and union principles, as well as an understanding of pension plans, trustee responsibilities, and the legal framework surrounding pensions,” OPSEU stated in its description of the positions.

Trustees will be required to meet for at least two or three days every two months, plus extra sessions while serving on committees

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The positions do not come with a paycheck, an OPSEU spokesperson told aiCIO, although the funds will reimburse trustees’ expenses.

“The successful candidate must be willing to sign a letter of agreement that they will claim expenses only as per OPSEU policies,” the statement said.

According to the listing, OPSEU is seeking members with “knowledge of finance and investment,” and prefers those with “demonstrated ability to understand complex issues and investment philosophy.”

Experience with union pension plans is greatly encouraged.

Applications must be submitted by August 16, 2013, after which the written tests and interviews will be conducted.

Successful candidates for the OPSEU board will begin October 1, and municipal pension trustees are slated to start in the new year.

(August 2, 2013) — Investors may have to wait more than a year to redeem anything more than three quarters of their net assets from the largest US hedge funds, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has revealed.

Hedge funds with more than $5 billion in assets are compelled to report their liquidity and leverage profiles to the SEC under the recent Dodd Frank Act.

Figures shown to the US Congress last week indicated just 7% of assets held in these funds could be liquidated in one day or less; with fractionally more—9%—available to be sold and returned in one week or less.

A quarter of assets could take a month to be sold, while 43% of assets were estimated to take up to 90 days to be traded back in to the market.

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If investors were prepared to wait six months, they should be able to take back 59% of their capital, and within a year some 74% of assets would be expected to be returned.

The rest—26%—investors would have to wait more than a year for, the hedge fund managers told the SEC.

However, the story is not as simple is just asking for the money back. More than half of the funds reported may be subjected to a gate to restrict withdrawals, which may be implemented by a manager or fund governing body.

While more than three quarters—77%–of these funds may be subjected to a total suspension of investor withdrawals or redemptions, the SEC reported hedge fund managers as telling them.

Additional information gathered from a range of hedge funds, including those with smaller asset pools showed total borrowing—which amounts to leverage in the portfolio—had reached $1.06 trillion. This figure was collated from funds with more than $500 million in total assets.

To read the entire report, click here.