In March 2014, Rhode Island’s $8 billion state pension fund redeemed $74.3 million from Daniel Loeb’s New York–based hedge fund firm Third Point in favor of funds with less exposure to the equity markets. Then–Rhode Island general treasurer (now Governor-elect) Gina Raimondo (No. 14) called the move strategic, attributing it to a more refined focus on allocation and overall returns by the pension fund. The now $17.5 billion Third Point had performed well compared with its peers, producing 24.7 percent returns in 2013, but it lagged the S&P 500 index. Critics, such as American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten (No. 3), have urged public pensions to invest in low-cost index funds rather than pricey hedge funds. In 2013 and 2014 the AFT called out a number of hedge funds, including Third Point, for undermining workers’ retirement security by accepting investments from the same pension plans their managers were pushing to eliminate. Loeb’s contributions to charter schools, advocacy group StudentsFirst New York and conservative New York think tank the Manhattan Institute Policy Research, which has supported scholars advocating the end of defined benefit plans, made him a target. Loeb has argued that his support of charter schools doesn’t reflect his views on pensions and that, contrary to unions’ beliefs, StudentsFirstNY and the Manhattan Institute have no house policies on pensions.
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Daniel Loeb
Founder
Third Point
Last year: 18
The 2014 Pension 40