It's About Time: NY To Abandon Sole Fiduciary
I've been critical of Andrew Cuomo lately (does accusing him of quasi-extortion count?), but it's all flowers and laurels today. The AG done good. Cuomo and a bi-partisan group of state legislators have written a bill that would eliminate the state pension fund's sole fiduciary structure, and replace it with a board of trustees. It's about time. New York is one of just two states that don't have some sort of board structure, and it may not be coincidence that the other (Connecticut) also experienced a pay-to-play scandal related to private equity investments. “For decades, the State pension fund has been weakened and corrupted by the sole trustee model,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement. "It’s about as sensible as having a single lock on Fort Knox. Today’s legislation will ensure that the fate of our public retirement fund isn’t decided by one individual, and that the entire system is rid of the kind of pay-to-play that infected and derailed it in the first place.” There is also the reverse chicken/egg possibility -- single fiduciaries don't increase the likelihood of corruption, they just increase the likelihood of exposure
