PROVIDENCE Journal — Following up on a scathing 105-page report, financial industry critic Edward “Ted” Siedle called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Monday to investigate “soaring investment fees” and possibly illegal investment practices that the state Employees Retirement System has pursued under General Treasurer Gina M. Raimondo.
Siedle, hired by Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees to review state pension fund investments, said the complaint builds on his earlier report and provides a “silver platter” of information “with in-depth analysis” for the SEC to investigate.
The complaint, which Siedle provided to The Providence Journal, specifically asks the SEC to look at:
Investment fees that have been “grossly understated” and “intentionally withheld” from public view;
Investment agreements that allow hedge fund managers to withhold information from the state while they share it with other investors, putting them in a position to benefit at the state’s expense, or, as the complaint puts it, “steal from the state pension”;
