The private-equity firm was Cerberus. Florida paid Cerberus a $4.7 million fee for managing the investment. We analyzed the Cerberus fund and found it had a 7.7% annualized rate of return. If Florida had invested the money in the S&P 500, it would have seen a 20.1% return.
-
-
Show this thread
-
LOL...I misspoke...it was $4.9 million in fees as of the latest data.
Show this thread -
One month after Florida invested in the Cerberus fund, the Cerberus CEO, Stephen Feinberg, donated another $975,000 to the super PAC run by Gov. Scott... a super PAC supporting then-candidate Donald Trump.
Show this thread -
It's important to note that no rules or laws appear to have been violated. The SEC implemented rules against pay-for-play after pension-fund scandals in New York and California... but so far the SEC has not applied that rule to super PACs.
Show this thread -
Our story follows in the wake of similar reporting on Scott money dealings, by
@davidsirota and@andrewperezdc, involving a new Scott super PAC, as well as the Florida pension fund. https://maplight.org/story/rick-scott-super-pac-received-donations-from-firms-with-florida-pension-business/ … andhttps://maplight.org/story/rick-scott-invested-in-the-same-financial-firms-as-floridas-pension-system/ …Show this thread -
And the New York Times has a new piece up TODAY questioning the blindness of Scott's blind holdings. Never rains, but it pours.https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/us/rick-scott-conflicts-blind-trust.html …
Show this thread -
Cerberus assured us that they're in compliance, which we have no reason to doubt. An agency spokesperson called "any suggestion that politics influenced" the investment decision "baseless and without merit." Scott's office referred us to his campaign, which did not respond.
Show this thread -
140,000 Florida teachers belong to the pension fund. Teachers union head
@rweingarten told us: "“These kinds of shameless pay-to-play deals are inappropriate at best and illegal at worst..."Show this thread -
She continued, "And it’s doubly disturbing when a governor with a fiduciary duty to protect the retirement security of Florida’s public sector workers takes the bait and decides to plow their deferred wages into a high-fee private equity fund instead.”
Show this thread -
The handy video version of our investigation into Rick Scott and the private-equity firm that got state business even as its CEO poured money into Scott's pro-Trump super PAC. Full video HERE: https://youtu.be/KBI7PNG79iU pic.twitter.com/3G6wQyDVu1
Show this thread -
I should mention that this story was done in collaboration with The Intercept. You can read it on their site, as well.https://theintercept.com/2018/10/18/rick-scott-florida-pension-fund/ …
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.