New at Reason

Tim Cavanaugh | June 28, 2005

Judges nodding off, a President wrapping himself in the flag, and money going down the drain. Nothing but gruesome spectacles, in Reason Express.

Comments

|6.28.05 @ 10:26AM|#

"That insurgency could go on for any number of years. Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years." is quite a departure from "I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today would last five days, or five weeks, or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last any longer than that.", even for Rumsfeld

gaius marius|6.28.05 @ 10:50AM|#

Capital preservation should be where it is at for a state-run fund like that.

which is exactly the forte of an effective hedge fund portfolio.

Worse, it certainly looks like the fund managers got suckered into pitches from local or regional money- or fund-managers without really doing any due diligence work looking at the qualifications of those managers to handle large, state-owned investments.

of course, this is enough to sabotage any portfolio.

|6.28.05 @ 11:59AM|#

Just when you think the sad story of the state of Ohio throwing away millions of dollars in sketchy investments can't get any worse, it does. Not only were the state's Bureau of Workers' Compensation funds "invested" in rare coins, the state has strayed into venture and hedge finds as well. In all, some $951 million of a $14.3 billion portfolio are tucked away in decidedly non-traditional investments. Why?

The workers' comp fund does not need much of a growth component to its business. Capital preservation should be where it is at for a state-run fund like that. Worse, it certainly looks like the fund managers got suckered into pitches from local or regional money- or fund-managers without really doing any due diligence work looking at the qualifications of those managers to handle large, state-owned investments.

Actually, a lot of the "outsourcing" of investment management in state workers' comp/retirement funds (in Ohio at least) seems to be a result of political pressure for privatization, not necessarily the will of the fund managers. And the local/regional bias can probably be similarly attributed to politics, not just a suckering at the hands of local managers.

Also: a 5-10% allocation in alternative investments may be a little high, but I wouldn't say it's outrageous, even for a fund with very low risk tolerance. I was embarassed for my state with the whole coin debacle, but this is just piling on.

|6.28.05 @ 2:01PM|#

<pedantic>

Capital preservation should be where it is at for a state-run fund like that.

What is wrong with, "Capital preservation should be the primary goal for a state-run fund like that."?! I have really come to hate the "where it's/where're you at."

Bleaahhhh :-p :-p

</pedantic>

|6.28.05 @ 2:05PM|#

Shawn - I'm sick of "it's all about..." personally.

Phil|6.28.05 @ 2:38PM|#

Guys, guys, it's all about freeing yourself from the restrictions of unnecessarily formal grammar. That's where it's at. Peace out, playas!!

|6.28.05 @ 2:58PM|#

gaius:

Hehee! I thought of you when I read that. You can't escape public view that you are an investment cowboy, operating on the fringes. Such is the irony of your chosen profession ...

|6.28.05 @ 3:10PM|#

Phil,

heh, heh, heh.

P.S. I'm not a "playa" :-) :-)

gaius marius|6.28.05 @ 3:58PM|#

Such is the irony of your chosen profession ...

i know some cowboys, mr ligon, but i like to think of our approach as civilized, modest and entirely pragmatic. :)

|6.28.05 @ 8:15PM|#

Someone with better reflexs than I have should be making a tally of how many times the President says the words 9/11, freedom, and terrorists.

|6.29.05 @ 9:29PM|#

I think we should give President Bush the benefit of the doubt. He's managed to draw the terrorists into Iraq, and now we have to give him the time to finish them off. I would rather fighht them in Iraq than in Houston. Also, we have a volunteer army and mostly Mexicans are joining up. They take enough jobs from the rest of us here at home. Fighting in Iraq is a good way for them to prove they're real Americans. Support the war, but oppose the draft. Stand behind President Bush.