Administration May 8, 2005

VRS Turns In 2.5% FY Performance

August 29, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - There are lots of smiles at the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) these days as the state public pension plan finished its most recent fiscal year with a 2.5% return.
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According to a VRS press release, the $34.6-billion fund was up 9% for the calendar year-to-date and a strong 11% for the most recent quarter. VRS said most of its year-to-date numbers came on the strength of its fixed-income position, which returned 10.4%, and its real estate program, which turned in a 7.4% return. Longer term, the fund was down 4.2% annualized for the three-year period and up 2.6% for the last five years.

The VRS portfolio had $16.4 billion invested in US equities, $5.4 billion in non-US equities, $8.3 billion in fixed income, $1.6 in real estate and $2.1 billion in private equity as of June 30. Both US and Non-US equities regained most of the losses experienced in the first half of the year to end with returns of 0.5% and -3.4% respectively. Private equity, which is reported with a one-quarter lag, was down 10.8%

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VRS provides benefits to almost 109,000 retirees and covers 311,000 active members

Administration May 7, 2005

Putnam Whistleblower Sues for Rewards

July 5, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The man who helped blow the whistle on improper trading at Putnam Investments has taken his battle for a share of the money recovered from Putnam into court.
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Peter Scannell, who alerted Massachusetts regulators to the fund trading practices at Boston-based Putnam, sued the state and its attorney general after officials last month turned down his demand for the money under the whistleblower law, according to a Reuters report. Scannell sought $15 million or 30% of the fines that Putnam paid to the state, which his lawyer, Robert Autieri, argued that he qualifies for under the Bay State’s five-year-old whistleblower statute.

Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly’s office said Scannell, a former Putnam call center employee, played an important role in the case but that he does not qualify for the award under the law.

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Putnam, the first big mutual fund firm to be charged in an industrywide scandal that cost it billions of dollars in lost assets, agreed to pay $193 million in fines to state and federal regulators and in restitution to investors hurt by the trades (See  Putnam Trustees Approve Outside Study Putting Market Timing Damages at $108.5M ).  Putnam is a unit of insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos.

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