Real-estate investments a massive drag on Rhode Island pension fund

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Edward "Ted" Siedle, the former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer who, in 2013, produced a highly critical report on then-General Treasurer Gina Raimondo's investment strategy, is out with a new report, titled "Beyond Bad," that describes years of "massively underperforming" real-estate investments by the state pension system.

The Rhode Island pension system currently has more than $509 million — which equates to 6.5 percent of its portfolio — in funds invested in hotels, shopping malls, office buildings and housing across the nation. The return on these investments is among the key points in dispute, with current Treasurer Seth Magaziner saying Siedle's report is "full of false and misleading information.''

But Siedle insists: "virtually all the information that the treasurer has publicly disseminated regarding the pension's real estate investments is false and misleading."

Among the conclusions of Siedle's latest crowd-funded investigation: "Rhode Island's severely underfunded state pension cannot afford to pay rich fees to real estate tycoons who manage funds that have under performed for decades."

Read more: http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160915/siedle-real-estate-investments-massive-drag-on-ri-pension-fund