Unless you have not been paying attention it’s not a very well kept secret.
Either way you need to get a voice. Like the squeaky gate getting oiled first if you have your money in one especially going toward all or even part of your planned retirement, it’s time to get your ducks arranged.
Yea, we’re back and we’re talking pension funds.
“US public pension funds are on pace for their deepest financial setback since the Great Recession as turmoil in global markets this year threaten to leave taxpayers and government workers on the hook.
“Public funds lost about 10.4% on average in 2022, according to Equable Institute, as surging inflation and growing fears of a recession hammered the bond market and drove stocks to their steepest quarterly decline since the first wave of Covid-19 in early 2020. The losses pared about half of the outsized 25% gain funds saw on average last year as monetary stimulus helped markets rally during the pandemic. Pension Funds.
“The threat to states is not the investment losses,” said Equable executive director Anthony Randazzo. “The threat is the contribution rates that are going to have to go up because of the investment losses.”
“When pensions miss their assumed annual return targets -- about 7% on average -- states and local governments have to increase funding or cut costs by raising employee contributions or freezing cost-of-living increases. To dampen the impact of market gyrations, most government pensions phase in additional contributions when returns fall short of targets.”
Keep in mind these funds love to play monetary kick the can. Many are, have been and will most kindly stay underfunded.
Just like more is not always more. It’s often less. So big ain’t always bigger and best. Don’t let size fool you.
Throughout history some of the biggest and thought to be the best disappeared.
The more shit you have often the more difficult it is to handle. Lean dogs run long races, not bloated, regulated overloaded fat asses. Create funds outside your pension fund. And don’t purchase paper gold and silver.
You want to see, feel, hold, store the physical stuff. Just most likely not in your abode. You’ll figure it out.
Get your own fuck you money. You think the government wants you to get rich?
Governments live off their dependents not as most believe the other way around. Governments need dependents, the classic symbiotic relationship, no longer a subtle way to buy votes.
There’s another negative here, proxy voting. Many of these behemoths vote your shares for things you might not agree with, teaming up with other pension fund giants like BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street Bank.
Not all legislation gets done at those voting polls as you think.
Why are you still getting surprised instead of informed?
In LA this week there was a huge Interstate 5 Brinks heist described by the Los Angeles Times.
No puns intended one might call it a reflection of the these times.
“When experts recall the most notorious jewelry heist in modern history, they talk about the tunneling into Hatton Garden in London or the Antwerp, Belgium, break-in that took months of planning.
“Then there is the case of the heist earlier this month at the Flying J truck stop along Interstate 5 in the Grapevine.
In the early hours of July 11, two armed guards left their Brink’s big rig, giving a gang of thieves a 27-minute window to make the huge snatch, its total value still a mystery. Estimates range from $10 million to $100 million.
The team of burglars bypassed the truck’s locking mechanism and used the storage containers to haul away precious gems, gold and other valuables from a Brink’s tractor-trailer, say multiple law enforcement sources not authorized to discuss the crime.
They have interviewed potential witnesses and reviewed security videos for images of the vital half-hour window where the security guards left the truck door unguarded.
“Obviously, we aren’t about to say what we have at this stage,” the sergeant said.
Flying J’s corporate parent has a web request page for its travel center’s security videos to help law enforcement and others gain access.
Cargo theft is a massive criminal enterprise across the L.A. region with some of the biggest ports in the nation. Last year alone, CargoNet, a theft record firm, logged more than $57 million in cargo truck theft. California remains the top state for cargo snatches, with a 13% increase over 2020.
So don’t let anything surprise you. You do that by getting informed and taking control, by being independent not dependent.
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Good luck.