New York's pension fund criticized by state agency

ALBANY - A state regulatory agency on Monday ripped the management of the state pension fund under Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, accusing the fund of paying high fees and investing in risky hedge funds.

The state comptroller is the sole trustee of the $179 billion pension fund for more than 1 million public workers and retirees.

The report from the state Department of Financial Services, controlled by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, charged that high fees and hedge-fund underperformance cost the fund $3.8 billion over the past eight years.

“Pension fund managers across the country have cut or eliminated exposure to these overpriced and underperforming investments, while the office of the New York state comptroller has stood still and spent pension system funds chasing performance that continues to fall far short,” Maria Vullo, the agency's superintendent, said in a statement.

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