This is your daily pension announcement: The Pension War Room™️ is in "I told you so" mode. Much to our chagrin. Take a look at the quote below from the inquest into the VOLTS debacle at AIMCO. This is what @ChristinaNDP and @SPhillipsAB were getting at... #ABLeg
That quote is from the scope of the inquest saying compensation needs to be looked at as being a cause of the VOLTS losses.
Yet in all the recommendations, compensation is never mentioned. Never in the positive ("AIMCO's bonus structure is fine") ...#ABLeg
and never in the negative ("AIMCO's bonus structure incentivized dangerous risk taking by individuals hoping to earn their next big bonus.")
And, to be clear, we got no clear answer from AIMCO in the Standing Committee meeting. #ABLeg#wherewaskevin
The institutional investment industry grapples with this issue. Huge bonuses are paid out for above average performance. This can cause normally cautious managers to throw caution to the wind....
See the failures of Lehman Brothers and Barrings Bank for current examples. #AbLeg
I thought I would also bring you some gems from the Bill 203 Committee Hearing from last June. Where we heard such canards as:
“I would like to be very clear that AIMCo has a consistent record of outperforming their mandated benchmarks.”
If a potty mouthed War Room wanted to include the Volts losses then.....
Between AIMCo’s inception and May 31, 2020, the LAPP portfolio returned an annualized 6.18% versus a LAPP policy benchmark return of 6.76%.
#ABLeg Oh that sucks! No wonder Kevin stayed away.
To quote an (unnamed) industry exec....
Although one can selectively choose interim time periods since AIMCo’s inception where AIMCo has exceed benchmarks, doing so is disingenuous as it does not provide a complete picture of AIMCo’s entire body of work as a legislated monopoly.
Do you remember when Athana (Deputy Minister of TBF) said...
“I think it’s important to understand the nature of the stretch goals before commenting on the extent to which AIMCo has or has not met them.”
Value add expectations should be met over suitable time periods. If they can't be met the AMCO Board needs to lay everyone off and index the lot. #ABLeg
I can't remember who said this last June...
“Bill 22 was developed to forestall the possibility that each of the pension funds could or would develop unique pension management....elimination of existing economies of scale and potentially outsourcing outside of Alberta …” #ABLeg
When the reality is ....
AIMCo retains offices in Toronto, London, and Luxembourg, and has also been exploring the opening of an office in Asia. AIMCo already outsources outside of Alberta – numerous external managers domiciled outside of Alberta. #ABLeg
Was it Athana that said...
"Essentially, what we were envisioning is kind of like another AIMCo being developed as a component of ATRF. Our conclusion was that the expertise – and AIMCo does have an excellent reputation – existed already in Edmonton." #ABLeg
Don't get me started. Excellent reputation? Do you want to walk that back now? In light of events? The government is not serious about fostering diversification of industry outside of oil and gas – it’s wrong to presume that Edmonton can only have one investment manager. #ABLeg
And one more from Athana, your Deputy Minister of TBF:
"It’s why I’m so distressed when we hear the suggestion that Bill 22 reversed joint governance. I think that that is unfortunate, that that is one of the claims that’s been made about Bill 22. It’s totally false" #ABLeg
Disingenuous...
The façade of joint governance may remain but the inability for pension clients to exercise choice in its service providers should its service providers fail, severely limits the pension plans’ ability to exercise their fiduciary responsibilities. #ABLeg
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The Pension War Room™️ again brings you this conundrum. Reasons for @NateHornerAB removing the AIMCO Board keep changing! Barb here, definitely has insider access. Read it
To recap: the original reason for destroying @aimcoinvests was cost plus investment performance. We know know that wasn't true in any logical world.
Barb here floats reason #2: that CEO @ewsiddall was a "liberal" or a "Laurentian Elite". #AbLeg
The Stapler (keep in mind he is an idiot) floats reason #3 in the paper today: That the Board and CEO had the audacity to drag the organization into this century with ESG and DEI policies. The former as part of its legal fiduciary duty...
The Pension War Room™️needs you to read this piece from the G &M. No, I can't link to it.
You may remember Mr. Willis from the original AIMCO conundrum. He is correct in this case, the pension plans bear the consequences of AIMCOs bad decisions. #AbLeg
To quote Mr. Willis:
"The day after Mr. Horner marched AIMCo executives out the door, LAPP put out a press release to say that “your pension remains safe and secure.” LAPP executives declined further comment... #AbLeg
...At best, the pension plan’s “safe and secure” line is wishful thinking, as no one knows where AIMCo’s investment performance is headed." #AbLeg
We are still awaiting the other shoe to drop. #AbLeg
The Pension War Room™️ reviews this AIMCO quote from Bloomberg: "Employees have already told acquaintances they want new jobs, anticipating the province will begin treating the pension manager like a state agency and slash their pay." #Ableg
Yeah, so this is the hidden cost of @NateHornerAB's actions. A ton of employees with very specific skill sets have already sent their resumes out. This are employees who were very difficult to recruit to start with. #AbLeg
Most of the highly specialized skill sets @aimcoinvests don't grow in AB. They are only produced in major financial centers like Toronto, adding another level of complexity.
This is your daily pension announcement! The Pension War Room™️ would note Jim-Bob Dinning is still a stan for the APP. He was at the Calgary Golf and Country Club while the rest of the UCP were lathering up in Red Deer. #AbLeg
It appears that his message has not changed. Lifeworks/Telus report=The Word of God. Yeah, even the bits he reproduced for handouts at the events had all sorts of warnings from the actuary about "best estimates". #AbLeg
The crowd, though tough to tell from appearances, looked like they **WILL NOT** be depending on CPP/APP for their retirement income. Unlike millions of Canadians who WILL be depending on it. #AbLeg
This is your daily pension announcement! Smith recruiting private schools to stack the leadership vote shows a level of desperation. She didn't invent this strategy (@jkenney did), but she needs it. #AbLeg
It seems two groups are organizing against her: one group thinks she had the power to stop the prosecution of domestic terrorists. The other is angry she reneged on a promise to cut taxes.
A certain substantial, but as yet unquantified, portion of her party is just angry all the time about everything. The same people that gave Ralph the boot after all he did for 'berta.
This is your daily pension announcement. The Pension War Room™️ is mildly piqued at the continued operation of @aimcoinvests without a Board Chair. Speculation centers around the UCP trying to appoint a politician and failing (twice) on conflict of interest grounds. #AbLeg
It is well past time that I remind you if you have a DB pension plan the money in that plan IS NOT your employers. It is held, in trust, and cared for by a trustee. That trustee has the fiduciary responsibility to invest wisely and to pay out benefits to you when the time comes.
It's important for me to hammer home this concept in law as we seem to have lots of MLAs and senior civil servants confused about this. Various FOIP requests have provided ample examples of teachers' pensions being referred to as a GOA "program". They are not. #Ableg