States are facing a shortfall of $1 trillion to pay for pension and health care to retirees, according to the Pew Center. Orin S. Kramer, chairman of the New Jersey Investment Council, told Bloomberg the number is closer to $2 billion.

Whether it's $1 trillion or $2 trillion, the problem is gigantic. What this means is that states must raise the cash to cover any shortfall. According to the Pew Institute, states have saved $2.35 trillion and owe $3.35 trillion.

Here are the states which owe the most:

Continue reading States Missing $1 Trillion Needed for Pensions and Retiree Benefits

States Missing $1 Trillion Needed for Pensions and Retiree Benefits originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Pensions Consider Insurance Securitization Finance Because You Refuse to Die

Pensions Consider Insurance Securitization Finance Because You Refuse to Die originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Its sights set on the United States and Asia, South Korea's $30 billion sovereign wealth fund is hunting for equities. Korea Investment Corp. (KIC) doesn't see bonds outperforming stocks over the long term, which is what has prompted the move.

Once the reallocation is executed, equities will account for half of KIC's "traditional" investments. Today, it stands at 40%. High quality equities and fixed income securities comprise 90% of KIC's portfolio, with the rest, one would gather, consisting of "non-traditional" investments.

Continue reading Korean sovereign, pension funds preparing to load up on equities

Korean sovereign, pension funds preparing to load up on equities originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The New York Times Co.

Continue reading New York Times has pension drama

New York Times has pension drama originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

University endowments and pension funds for government employees and teachers are big investors in venture capital partnerships. Now, thanks to the decline in the stock market, these endowments and pension funds have too big a proportion of their portfolios invested in illiquid venture capital and private equity funds. So they are trying to sell those interests -- and I am guessing they will fail to do so or take big losses when they do.

Two of the biggest funds are above their limits. Consider the largest university endowment -- Harvard Management Company -- which had $36.9 billion as of June 30. Harvard has reportedly hired a bank to sell its private equity investments that make up 13% of its portfolio for fiscal year 2009. The largest state pension fund, Calpers, has a 10% target for private equity -- which includes venture capital and LBOs -- and because of falling stock values, its private equity share exceeds the target by 3%.

The forced sale of these private company ownership stakes is not good for the venture capital industry, which saw investment fall 6.9% in the third quarter. There might be some demand for the illiquid shares of venture-backed startups from corporate venture capitalists. But with an initial public offering market in hibernation and VCs telling their portfolio companies to cut way down on their burn rates, it looks like this largely lost decade for IT innovation will end with a nuclear winter.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.

Plunging markets to hurt endowments, pensions, venture capital originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.