Though executives and the media typically group hedge funds and pension funds into a single class of “institutional investors,” there’s increasing evidence that the two fund types are at odds. In recent conversations with Compliance Week, a number of pension- and union-fund managers admit they are uneasy with many of the tactics and goals of the more aggressive hedge funds—and they seek to distance themselves somewhat from the group.
“This is a growing debate within the shareholder activist community,” says Richard Ferlauto, director of pension and benefit policy at AFSCME, the union for government employees. “Our interests are not aligned.”
