NBA Approves Institutional Investors’ Passive Ownership Stakes in Teams
Investors including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and endowments can own passive stakes in NBA franchises, following a 2020 decision to welcome private equity firms.
Newsmakers
Former Connecticut Treasurer Named Chief Public Pension Strategist at Apollo Global Management
Shawn Wooden, outgoing treasurer of Connecticut, was named partner and chief public pension strategist at Apollo Global Management’s institutional client and product solutions group.
Ohio Takes Lead in $25.5 Million Suit Against Warner Bros. Discovery
Class-action lawsuit alleges company intentionally failed to disclose financial problems at WarnerMedia prior to merger.
BlackRock’s Red-State Woes Continue as Florida Divests
Florida’s CFO freezes assets managed by BlackRock and says by early 2023, the state will have divested fully from the world’s largest asset manager.
PGIM Hires VP of DEI Strategy and Industry Engagement
PGIM appoints Natalie Gill as vice president of DEI strategy and industry engagement.
PSERS Exploring Legal Action Stemming from Reporting Error
The 2020 fund reporting error’s revision triggered the state’s shared-risk provision, which required school districts, as plan providers, and plan participants to pay more into the system.
Does Chinese Pandemic Unrest Mean Big Problems Ahead? Maybe Not, Says Bespoke
The economic and investing impact on China should be small, the firm expects. Hopefully with no Tiananmen Square rerun.
Dell Agrees to $1 Billion Class Action Payout
Settlement could become one of the Top 20 all-time shareholder-related settlements.
University of Texas System’s Oil and Gas Participation Fuels Bid to be Biggest Endowment
The University of Texas System endowment’s oil and gas revenues from its 2.1 million acres of land in the West Texas Permian Basin has it competing with Harvard for biggest endowment by net assets.
BlackRock Signs Infrastructure Deal With Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund
World’s largest asset manager and $620 billion fund will target Middle East projects.
DOL’s Releases Final ESG Rule for ERISA Plans
Plan sponsors can consider climate and other ESG factors when selecting investments and voting proxies.
PBGC Provides Almost a Billion Dollars to New York Teamsters Pension
The PBGC approved the grant money out of funding from the American Rescue Plan, for a struggling pension with over 30,000 participants.
Biden Appoints New Members to PBGC Advisory Committee
The four new appointees will join three other existing members representing employers, participants and the public.
S&P Global Settles SEC Conflict of Interest Charges
Ratings agency agrees to $2.5 million fine over charges its sales and marketing team influenced analytics.
Alternative Asset Managers Launch ESG Disclosure Tool
Template aims to improve transparency and consistency for companies and credit investors.