A new Bloomberg report alleges the SEC is investigating the relationships between the $66 billion Pennsylvania state pension fund and major investment managers. The SEC issued a subpoena this month to gather details on gifts exchanged between major firms such as Blackstone, The Carlyle Group, Morgan Stanley, Apollo Global, and Hamilton Lane, and executive members of the state pension fund.
The Pennsylvania fund was already under scrutiny by the FBI for how it reported its 2020 financial returns which led to six of 15 board members calling for the removal of its Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer. Now, the SEC has joined the FBI in investigating the fund in light of these new discoveries.
The SEC is likely looking for evidence that the fund violated Pennsylvania Executive Order 2015-01, which states that:
“the government demands that significant contact between Commonwealth Executive Employees and special interests, lobbyists and those who employ lobbyists seeking to influence the decisions and administrative actions of such employees, be regulated and publicly disclosed”
And
“No employee, appointee or official in the Executive Branch of the Commonwealth may solicit or accept for the personal use of the employee or another, a gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, hospitality, loan or any other thing of monetary value, including in-kind gifts, from a person who:(1) Is seeking to obtain business from or has financial relations with the Commonwealth.”
In addition to the broader federal laws, such as the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-5, these state-by-state regulations will be increasingly scrutinized and burdensome for investment advisors and public pension funds to manage.
As more and more entrants vie for institutional capital (particularly in the way of venture funds who are returning unprecedented gains), it is more important than ever for compliance teams to ensure their relationship with public funds is beyond reproach.
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