A legislative fight between North Carolina Treasurer Janet Cowell and a state employee association is signaling growing tension over disclosure practices as public pensions seek to improve returns with alternative investments, Bloomberg News reported today. Cowell, a 45-year-old Democrat, opposed a bill by the State Employees Association of North Carolina to require more disclosure about deals with Wall Street firms hired to manage alternatives to stocks and bonds for the $87 billion pension she controls. Cowell warned that giving out more information would cost more than $1.8 billion for violating secrecy agreements, and instead supported a bill that would conceal details for five years after a contract is completed. The dispute comes as states invest more in private equity and hedge funds in a bid to meet average return targets of 7.7 percent. Since 2001 states have increased allocations to alternatives to $460 billion, or 15.3 percent, from $66 billion, or 3.3 percent in 2001, according to the National Association of State Retirement Administrators.
