California Regulator Will Investigate Former Calpers CIO Ben Meng
California Regulator Will Investigate Former Calpers CIO Ben Meng
(Bloomberg) -- A regulator in California said it will open an investigation into actions by Ben Meng, the former chief investment officer at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.
The California Fair Political Practices Commission said in an Aug. 11 letter to Meng’s lawyer that it will investigate allegations that he ran afoul of rules governing disclosure of personal investments, leading to his departure from the public pension. Meng stepped down on Aug. 5 from his post managing the fund’s $400 billion portfolio.
Meng and his attorney didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
The board of Calpers held an emergency closed-door meeting to discuss some of the circumstances surrounding Meng’s resignation. Marcie Frost, Calpers’s chief executive officer, has faced questions from trustees about the unexpected departure and the pension system’s knowledge that he may have run afoul of conflict of interest rules.
Calpers is committed to strong compliance protocols and will bring “specific policy options” for the board to consider at next month’s meeting, Frost said in a statement late Monday.
“We will always do everything we can to be transparent and accountable in our mission to deliver retirement security to California’s public employees,” she said.
Meng’s exit came after he approved an investment in a private equity fund managed by Blackstone Group Inc. while at the same time holding shares of Blackstone in his personal account, Bloomberg reported this month.
The regulator said in the letter that “at this time we have not made any determination about the validity of the allegation(s) made or about the culpability, if any, of the person(s) identified in the complaints.”
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.