Dean Dennis questions STRS Board: Is management hiding fees from you?

From Dean Dennis

March 15, 2021

Subject: Does STRS Have This Problem?

Another Open Letter to STRS Trustees: Is management hiding fees from you?

I last informed you about the STRS Panda International investment. I gave you a number of links and raised some concerns.

I now have another major concern after reading this article, https://www.inquirer.com/.../joe-torsella-treasurer-pa... 

In short, in this article you'll read about fees that can be unreported. These fees are often called "carried interest."  As Trustees, I'm asking (1) that you ask STRS management if they are reporting these fees to you.  (2) How much annually are these fees costing us? (3) Do the Annual Investment Returns being reported to members and Board members include these "hidden" fees? From my research these fees are far from insignificant and may shed some light on our problems.

I remember the "transparency debate" surrounding Board Policies among the Trustees during the end of the February Board Meeting. Is it possible that the reason retirees aren't receiving their COLA while active teachers work longer but pay more for less, is because STRS management isn't transparent in reporting these fees? This happened in Pennsylvania. I hope you find out. I'm also going to put this question before the ORSC and the Ohio Legislature because as of July 1, 2021 none of pre-2013 STRS retirees, will have received their promise COLA for the last 9 years.

My best and thank you for the time you commit,

Dean Dennis