Another Liberal Governor Demands His State’s Pension Abandon Fiduciary Duties, Sell Fossil-Fuel Investments

As if public pension managers around the country weren’t having enough difficulty digging themselves out of their massive $3-$5 trillion funding gap, the chorus of liberal governors suggesting they should recklessly abandon their fiduciary obligations to future retirees and choose investments not on their financial merits but rather based on the political preferences of clueless politicians is growing stronger by the day. As Pensions & Investments points out today, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is the latest such politician to jump on the bandwagon after suggesting that the New York State Common Retirement Fund should “divest from all fossil-fuel holdings.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday proposed that the New York State Common Retirement Fund halt all new investments “with significant fossil-fuel-related activities” and prepare a plan to divest existing fossil-fuel investments.
“New York has made incredible strides in securing a clean energy future for this state … yet the Common Fund remains heavily invested in the energy economy of the past,” Mr. Cuomo said in a news release.
“Moving the Common Fund away from fossil-fuel investments will protect the retirement savings of New Yorkers,” he said. “This proposal lays out a roadmap for the Common Fund to take responsible steps to divest from its fossil-fuel holdings.”

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Dec 21, 2017.