Home ListingDecember 8, 2013

CIO of Pennsylvania Pension Plan Retires Amid Controversy

<em>Anthony Clark submitted his letter of resignation after the $25 billion fund decided to investigate his two-year tenure.</em>

Reported by Featured Author

(December 8, 2013) — Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS) will be short a CIO come December 31 this year.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, CIO Anthony Clark has announced his retirement to the board, following the $25 billion fund’s decision to investigate his tenure. The allegations against Clark are not yet public.

“Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, SERS board chairman was made aware of an allegation related to one of SERS’ senior staff,” said a statement from the board. The Inquirer then reported that spokesperson Pamela Hile confirmed the allegations were in fact against Clark.

SERS also said the subject of the allegation was prohibited from returning to the office and was barred from access to computer files—“to err on the side of caution.”

“If there is merit to the allegation, we are eager to discover and address it,” the statement said. “We are also eager, however, to ensure that conclusions are not drawn until a thorough, independent investigation has been completed.”

The SERS board is said to meet on Wednesday to discuss incorporating a third-party investigator but it did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Clark served as CIO of the Pennsylvania defined benefit and contribution plans since April of 2011. He previously worked as deputy CIO for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Earlier this year, Clark faced trouble with his $250 million hedge fund initiative with New York-based Tiger Management. According to the Inquirer, Clark had recommended the firm based on highly positive projections—stable returns of 8% to 12% a year. However, Tiger Management underperformed by “speculating on gold futures.” The hedge fund manager said it was returning SERS’ investments.

SERS provides benefits for over 200,000 public employees and is currently 58.6% funded with an unfunded liability of $17.9 billion.