Associated Press misleads for Wall Street; "Correction: Primary-Council Of State story"; Don't expect the News and Record to tell anyone in print

"RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — In a story Feb. 27 about primary elections for statewide Council of State offices, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the political arm of the State Employees Association of North Carolina endorsed Dan Blue III in the Democratic Party contest for state treasurer. 

The group instead endorsed his opponent, Ron Elmer."

Greensboro's News and Record represents the best interests of Wall Street

as opposed to "more than 900,000 North Carolina teachers, state employees, 

firefighters, police officers and others"

"TREASURER

The treasurer's primary job is overseeing and investing public employee pension funds for more than 900,000 North Carolina teachers, state employees, firefighters, police officers and others valued at about $87 billion. He or she also controls the health insurance program for state employees, teachers and retirees.

The News and Record and other Warren Buffett owned news outlets

are going to try to take down Ron Elmers for Wall Street profit

instead of more money in North Carolina employee pockets

Republican Dale Folwell faces no primary opposition. He'll face the winner between bond lawyer Dan Blue III of Raleigh or Ron Elmer of Cary..."

Dan Blue is on bond lawyer.

How clueless is anyone who endorses a lobbyist for NC Treasurer?

Most of the state's sold out press like Greensboro's News and Record

http://www.greensboro.com/news/north_carolina_ap/correction-primary-council-of-state-story/article_f84e8876-86c7-5cf7-84e1-9341778e2a4c.html
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Charlotte Observer; "Our choices for N.C. treasurer"; Where is Greensboro News and Record's endorsement for treasurer?


http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/03/charlotte-observer-our-choices-for-nc.html
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What do all these fine folks want to get out of Dan Blue being North Carolina's Treasurer?

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/03/what-do-all-these-fine-folks-want-to.html

NC Treasurer Janet Cowell Contributions; "Law Firms Seek Cut of State Pension Litigation" and Pay to Play

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/nc-treasurer-janet-cowell-contributions.html

Sound Familiar?; Who do you think Greensboro's News and Record is going to endorse?

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/03/sound-familiar-who-do-you-think.html
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Copy the Federal Thrift Savings Plan, 
the same proposal from Greensboro's 2013 mayoral race
which the News and Record and the Triad Business Journal didn't report on;

https://web.archive.org/web/20160225170617/http://www.elmerfortreasurer.com/

Comments at Greensboro's City Council Meeting on NC State's 401(k) plan and ICMA's 457 plan

...In 2010, Galliard Capital Management, a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, started managing portions of North Carolina's 401(k) and 457 retirement plan's Stable Value Funds, and then hired Wells Fargo to do the same, which appears to mask underlying costs taken from state employees accounts and funneled to Galliard's parent company.

The State Employees Association found that North Carolina's pension doesn't disclose underlying hedge “funds of funds” fees.

In 2013, North Carolina State 401(k) and 457 target date funds, which are also like stable value or fund of funds, replaced two index funds with higher cost alternatives. The fees for the international allocation more than doubled and small cap fund costs about quadrupled.

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/comments-at-greensboros-city-council.html

Jeff Gauger, Stephen Doyle, Allen Johnson and Doug Clark 

are going to maximize Warren Buffett's profits

at the expense of North Carolina employees

again

Galliard, owned by Wells Fargo, North Carolina Stable Value Fund Transition Update; May 16, 2013

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/galliard-owned-by-wells-fargo-north.html

Ron Elmer would take profit away from Wells Fargo, 

which Warren Buffett owns more than 9% of 

How to save $35,122,520 for Greensboro, North Carolina's employees invested in ICMA-RC's 457 retirement plan

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2015/01/how-to-save-35122520-for-greensboro.html

Please support Charlotte, North Carolina in saving $22,048,780.40 for their employees invested in ICMA-RC's 457 retirement plan

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2015/01/please-support-charlotte-north-carolina.html

North Carolina State Budget Act, Chapter 143C

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/north-carolina-state-budget-act-chapter.html

North Carolina State 401(k) replaced index funds with higher cost actively managed accounts in 2013

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/north-carolina-state-401k-replaced.html

A Few Observations on Share Classes and Wells Fargo Stable Return Fund

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-couple-of-observations-on-share.html

Sound Familiar?; Who do you think Greensboro's News and Record is going to endorse?

"Over the past 15 years, the North Carolina state pension’s funding ratio has deteriorated – falling from 112.8% to 94.8%.  The major reasons for the decline—excessive undisclosed fees and wildly speculative hedge and private equity investing..."

Greensboro's News and Record is directly responsible 

for North Carolina and the City of Greensboro's employees 

paying more for pension and retirement investments than necessary,

as they have known for years and did nothing

Thankfully, for whatever reasons, current North Carolina Treasurer Janet Cowell—having exponentially increased the fees paid to her pals on Wall Street—has decided not to seek reelection.

Can’t imagine where she’ll surface next.

...Mr. Elmer, a CPA, has committed not only to publishing financial statements for the North Carolina state pension fund for the first time in 15 years, but also an independent audit of the pension for the first time – ever.

Jeff Gauger has direct personal knowledge

of Elmer's strategy, as I told him on multiples of occasions

and he didn't let Warren Buffett's newspaper report the story

Elmer has pledged not to take campaign contributions from Wall Street but his goals are bigger than winning the Treasurer’s race without Wall Street’s money.  He plans to end pay-to-play permanently in the Treasurer’s office by firing as many of the external managers as possible, bringing North Carolina’s money home, and managing assets in-house using an indexing strategy.  Finally, Elmer plans to replace the widely-criticized “sole-trustee” power of the State Treasurer with a Board of Trustee structure filled with relevant stakeholders – not Wall Streeters.

Joe Killian and Susan Ladd know exactly what could have been reported

and wasn't,

and then Joe's wife became a financial industry lobbyist

Thus, the next Treasurer won’t be able to dole out million dollar investment contracts to campaign contributors without the full consent of the Board of Trustees who would have to vote to move investments from in-house management back to the outhouse.

Jon Hardister barely lifted a finger,

and then failed to act in the best interests of North Carolina employees

by not following through

Elmer has managed state pension investments for Georgia and California, but more importantly, Elmer has previously managed a $2 billion stock index fund for the North Carolina pension fund.  He has quite literally “done this before” and just wants to “do it across town in the Treasurer’s office and save North Carolina hundreds of millions of dollars annually.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsiedle/2016/03/01/finally-north-carolina-has-a-good-choice-for-state-treasurer/#70d0935a79cb
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From; NC District 59 Representative Jon Hardister To; NC Treasurer's Office "pertaining to 401(k) and 457 plans"

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/from-nc-district-59-representative-jon.html

Tony Wilkins, Nancy Vaughan, Nancy Hoffmann, Sharon Hightower, 

Yvonne Johnson, Mike Barber, MariKay Abuzuaiter and Jamal Fox

with Jim Westmoreland, Donnie Turlington and Mary Vigue's help 

betrayed those they are supposed to represent

On North Carolina State's 401(k) and 457 "GoalMaker" Target Date Funds

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/on-north-carolina-states-401k-and-457.html

North Carolina State 401(k) replaced index funds with higher cost actively managed accounts in 2013

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/north-carolina-state-401k-replaced.html

A Few Observations on Share Classes and Wells Fargo Stable Return Fund

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-couple-of-observations-on-share.html

A Few Observations on Share Classes and Wells Fargo Stable Return Fund

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-couple-of-observations-on-share.html

"Secrecy in Pensions Triggers Legislative Brawl in North Carolina"

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/secrecy-in-pensions-triggers.html

NC State Treasurer Janet Cowell's answer to the following question in 2012

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/nc-state-treasurer-janet-cowells-answer.html

"North Carolina Treasurer [Richard Moore] calls Wells’ Wachovia deal ‘highway robbery’

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/north-carolina-treasurer-richard-moore.html

NC Treasurer Janet Cowell Contributions; "Law Firms Seek Cut of State Pension Litigation" and Pay to Play

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/nc-treasurer-janet-cowell-contributions.html

Crow Holdings Capital Partners LLC and Pay to Play with NC Treasurer Janet Cowell

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/10/crow-holdings-capital-partners-llc-and.html

"NC Pension Accused of Pay-to-Play Violations"

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/nc-pension-accused-of-pay-to-play.html

And so it goes with the Federal Reserve and Roy Cooper and Janet Cowell again

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/01/and-so-it-goes-with-federal-reserve-and.html

The Goodmons, WRAL, Janet Cowell and Roy Cooper, overcharging North Carolina State employees in retirement plans and the Wachovia, Wells Fargo merger

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-goodmons-wral-janet-cowell-and-roy.html

Galliard, owned by Wells Fargo, North Carolina Stable Value Fund Transition Update; May 16, 2013

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/galliard-owned-by-wells-fargo-north.html

Why North Carolina Treasurer Janet Cowell isn't running for reelection, and how the City of Greensboro's retirement plan committee betrayed their co-workers

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/12/why-north-carolina-treasurer-janet.html

Public Information Request for the State of North Carolina's Treasurer

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/10/public-information-request-for-state-of.html

Crow Holdings Capital Partners LLC and Pay to Play with NC Treasurer Janet Cowell

"Crow Holdings, a management group for at least 6 private hedge funds investing in real estate, is owned by Harlan Crow, an heir to the Trammell Crow estate of Dallas, TX.

Crow ...contributed to the campaigns of ...North Carolina’s most recent treasurers, Richard Moore and Janet Cowell.

A 2007 article from the Charlotte Observer exposed a potential pay-to-play relationship between Harlan Crow and NC’s then-treasurer Richard Moore.

...Crow Holdings had received two commitments from NC’s pension fund by 2006: Crow’s Fund IV receiving a commitment of $80 million and Fund IV-A receiving a commitment of $20 million.

...from the Observer article: “Less than a year later, Crow and six others tied to the firm gave $28,000 to Moore’s campaign on the same day.”

According to management fee documents obtained from the Treasurer’s office during a State Employees Association (SEA-NC) forensic investigation of the Teachers’ and State Employees’ pension fund, Crow Holdings received $384,339 in management fees from NC’s pension during the 2006/2007 fiscal year. The relationship was not shown on NC Treasurer’s report to the public covering the 2006/2007 fiscal year, but Moore’s report of fy2007/2008 shows the market value of NC pension money managed by the two funds at $67.6 million. Crow Holdings received an additional $238,852 in management fees from NC’s pension during the 2007/2008 fiscal year.

During the 2008 election cycle, NC’s now-treasurer Janet Cowell received maximum contributions from Crow family members Harlan, Katherine, Shirley, Margaret D., and Trammell S. Crow, as well as from Trammell Crow Company, totaling $24,000.

During the 4th quarter of 2008, Crow Holdings called upon additional NC pension money through a new fund (Fund V), which is indicated by the initiation of new management fees during that quarter...

...The contributions from the Crow family to NC treasurers ceased with the 2010 introduction of an SEC rule declaring that an advisory firm is prohibited from managing funds from a public retirement account if the firm’s associates have provided financial contributions to the public fund’s controllers during the 2 years prior.

...North Carolina remains one of only 4 states still operating as a sole fiduciary system, with State Treasurer Janet Cowell functioning as the fund’s trustee. This means that Cowell is the sole authority over the fund’s investment decisions, without hindrance from an outside approval process. There are very few people in this world who can make the claim that they exercise unilateral control over $91 billion belonging to the taxpayers. This makes Janet Cowell a very important person in a world of countless fund managers eager to invest on behalf of North Carolina future pensioners, in return receiving on average 1-2% management fees and further profits in the range of 20% off of any gains.

...North Carolina General Statutes restrict how much of our state’s retirement accounts may be invested in alternatives and, according to a 2010 report from North Carolina Auditor Beth Wood, that cap has been exceeded by Treasurer Cowell on multiple occasions.

...by 2013, Treasurer Cowell made an additional $85 million commitment to a new hedge fund established by Harlan Crow’s real estate investment group (Fund VI)...

Management fee documents obtained by SEA-NC show that $531,250 in fees were paid on the new Crow Fund VI during the first and second quarters of 2013. Though the market value for the amount called upon by Crow’s Fund VI should have appeared on North Carolina’s 2012/2013 Annual Investment Report, which states that it covers “investment advisors and fund relationships as of June 30, 2013,” NC’s investment in Fund VI was not disclosed within the report.

The same year, Cowell requested the passage of legislation to further increase the allotment for alternatives investments.

...The investments that Crow makes on behalf of North Carolina are further protected as a “trade secret” under North Carolina’s current laws, which do not require the disclosure. This means that once Crow Holdings takes possession of funding from North Carolina pension, what is done with the money from there is unknown to anybody outside of the offices of Crow and Cowell.

...Future Pensioners Given No Choice, Limited Disclosure

...One can’t help but note the irony in the fact that while one Crow Holdings executive argued that public resources should not be placed on the line for funding a risky real estate venture without allowing the taxpayers a voice in the matter, Crow Holdings Capital was doing exactly that with funds from North Carolina’s pension account.

Not only were the taxpayers of North Carolina, contributors to the state pension account, given no vote in Crow’s investments – they are kept completely in the dark about which private developments the money is funding. Perhaps North Carolina’s pension fund is invested in a hotel owned by Crow Holdings Capital, located just down the street from the proposed “taxpayer-owned” hotel. Or, perhaps NC pension funding has assisted Crow in the acquisition of development property off of I-77 here in North Carolina.

That information remains among North Carolina’s most expensive and best-kept secrets."

http://www.beaufortobserver.net/publicationreturnframe.lasso?-token.address=http://pundithouse.com/2014/10/nc-pension-money-given-to-tillis-pac-financier-in-2013-not-disclosed-on-state-treasury-report/
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NC Treasurer Janet Cowell "Investors as contributors"

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/10/nc-treasurer-janet-cowell-investors-as.html

NC Treasurer Janet Cowell Contributions; "Law Firms Seek Cut of State Pension Litigation" and Pay to Play

http://hartzman.blogspot.com/2014/10/nc-treasurer-janet-cowell-contributions.html

Public Information Request for the State of North Carolina's Treasurer

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/10/public-information-request-for-state-of.html

George Hartzman, presented to Guilford County's School Board, 10/23/2014

http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2014/10/george-hartzman-presented-to-guilford.html