Seven delegates from the Employees Retirement System of Baltimore traveled to Monte Carlo, a posh European gambling mecca, to attend a three-day investment conference, The Examiner has learned.
The October 2005 trip to the Europe Alternative and Institutional Investment Summit was billed in the summit?s brochure as an opportunity for “meaningful exchange” between investment managers “from both sides of the Atlantic.”
The conference was held at the Monte Carlo Hotel and Resort, a deluxe four-star hotel that features four restaurants and boasts of “private terraces ? much like a summer sitting room” on its Web site. Room rates ranged from $500 to $1,000 per night for a suite. Registration for the conference was $1,600 per person.
How much of the trip was funded by taxpayers is unclear. The Employee Retirement Systems Fund, which manages city employee?s retirement money, did not return calls seeking comment.
The conference featured seminars on “Recent Developments in French Pension Fund Reform” and “Pan-European Pension Funds: Fact or Fiction?”
The revelation about the trip comes when the financial performance of the fund is under fire. According to The Calvert Report, an overview of the fund?s financial performance, the ERS spent $12 million annually on fund managers and commission, but produced results “poorer than those that could have been obtained from investing in index funds.” The report also noted that the fund has consistently performed below “benchmark,” meaning its returns are less than market indexes, resulting in a $33 million “shortfall in returns.”
Ann Budowski, spokeswoman for the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, said their employees do not generally go overseas.
Budowski said board and employee travel is related to “organizations of which we are a member.” Investment conferences similar to European Alternative Institutional Investment are “strictly regulated to prevent conflicts,” Budowski said.
Stephen Fugate, chairman of the Fire and Police Employee Retirement System, the fund that covers Baltimore fire and police offices, said international travel by board membersand employees is avoided: “We shy away from anything out of the country simply for appearance,” Fugate said.
“I can?t think of an example when our board members or employees have traveled outside of the country,” he said.
