The Los Angeles Times reports that CalPERS, the state’s biggest pension fund, holding the pensions of state workers and taxpayers, was a major investor in the National Enquirer.
“The National Enquirer has been one of President Trump’s most controversial allies, delivering scathing coverage of his opponents to supermarket checkout lines and funneling $150,000 to one of his alleged mistresses to buy her silence.
“So it will probably come as a surprise to many California state employees and taxpayers to learn they were helping fund those efforts.
”During the 2016 presidential campaign, California’s massive public pension fund, CalPERS, was one of the biggest investors in the debt-laden owner of the National Enquirer, according to public records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.
“Through an investment managed by a New Jersey hedge fund, California’s public pension fund appears to have owned as much as one-third of American Media Inc., the National Enquirer’s parent company, in 2016. It is not clear whether CalPERS continues to hold a major stake in the tabloid publisher.
”Fewer than a third of California voters cast their ballots for Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in the state.
”Informed of the investment, Jeremy Bulow, a professor of economics at Stanford University, laughed in disbelief.
“I’m sure lots of CalPERS [plan holders] will be happy to know they were paying hush money to help get Trump elected,” he said. “That’s going to make them feel real good about their pension fund managers!”
”The news organization Maplight reported last year that California was one of three states whose pension funds had invested in the privately held publisher, although it did not detail how much of the company the state fund controlled.
”California’s pension fund, the largest in the nation, runs on contributions from taxpayer-funded state agencies and their employees. It has long drawn scrutiny over whether its mandate of seeking strong returns meshes with liberal Californians’ expectations of ethical investment. Some of its investments drawing recent scrutiny have included oil pipelines, retailers that sell semiautomatic rifles, Russian sovereign debt and coal-producing companies.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
For much more on the corruption of CalPers, see the site Naked Capitalism.
THE SAME could be said for other state pensions now under wheeler-dealer leadership: “California’s pension fund… has long drawn scrutiny over whether its mandate of seeking strong returns meshes with liberal Californians’ expectations of ethical investment.” The saddest truth is that across the nation many teacher pension portfolios not only underpin gun manufacture and sales, but human detention and incarceration.
Maybe that will make it easier for Jeff Bezos to buy up all of the NE’s debt (and the debt of its parent company) and take over that fake, lying, manipulating, corrupting misinformation media tabloid and reform it. And I’m NOT talking about fake reform like what has been forced on public education since the 1980s thanks to President Teflon Ray-Gun’s lying “A Nation at Risk” report and every president since that Prince of Darkness.
It’s not surprising that Ohio is one of the 3 states invested in National Enquirer, along with California. The Ohio State Teachers Retirement System was also invested in Corinthian and Enron.
The managers of the fund have all kinds of excuses. But, the bottom line is there are more mutual funds than there are companies in which to invest. When concentrated wealth holds big positions in the stock of companies, or firms are privately held, it’s one more way that economic opportunity is strangled. Add, to that issue, the ability of tech monopolies and oligopolies to thwart competition and the result is one in 5 American children live in poverty. Also, a result, no real wage increase for labor in 40 years, the millennials expected to have less wealth than the generation before and, the current population with less than $50,000 in savings for retirement.
The only way to improve the situation is a 77% marginal tax rate.
Dump this investment ASAP. Review other pension fund investments right away. We should not be supporting these investments.
Someone that works for CalPERS and is responsible for investing its funds was paid off to make this investment.
Most if not all of the riskiest investments give big kickbacks to the agents that invest in them and that “bonus money” is really tempting when there are no rule or no one watching to make sure those types of investments never happen.
“Securities Fraud #4 – Unlicensed Sales Agents
“Investment scam artists use the lure of high commissions to enroll independent insurance agents, financial advisors, investment seminar speakers, and accountants as sales representatives for securities fraud.”
https://financialmentor.com/investment-advice/investment-fraud-prevention/securities-fraud/18169