OIC weighs hedge fund investment

Corvallis Gazette-Times – The Oregon Investment Council is weighing whether to make an unprecedented investment of public pension money into risky hedge funds.

Some labor unions have objected to hedge fund investments, saying such funds charge outlandish management fees, and don’t give investors enough information about their trading tactics or historical performance.

But hedge funds have paid off in a big way for some investors, and they offer an infinite number of ways to play the market. Given the funds’ increasing influence and growing interest from public pension funds elsewhere, the OIC, which oversees the $56 billion Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund, believes it has to investigate the investment class.

“The hedge-fund universe encompasses anything you can do with investments,’’ Richard Solomon, a Portland accountant who chairs the OIC, told The Oregonian. “The question we need to ask is whether it’s appropriate at all, and if so, what kinds are appropriate for our portfolio and our risk parameters?’’

A preliminary recommendation about whether to go ahead with the investment is due this winter from staff in the state Treasury’s investment division.

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