Would our attorney general REALLY do such a thing? Yep! He already did. Maybe he doesn't like people who are smarter and more highly qualified for their job than he is. Or is it ego? Or all of the above?

From ORTA

May 15, 2024

STRS staff hoodwinks Attorney General Dave Yost into wasting taxpayers dollars on a baseless investigation into the most qualified pension board member in Ohio.

How many taxpayer dollars will Dave Yost waste to protect STRS staff?

Last week, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost launched his taxpayer-funded investigation of Dr. Rudy Fichtenbaum - Ohio's most qualified board member. 

He did so solely based on the shameful allegations from STRS staff desperate to preserve the status quo (i.e. their millions in "performance bonuses"). 

Dr. Fichtenbaum is the expert’s expert. The professor’s professor. He is professor emeritus of Economics at Wright State University. He previously served as the President of both the National Association of University Professors and the Ohio Association of University Professors. 

Dr. Fichtenbaum has written extensively on STRS investment performance, including collaborating with Richard Ennis, a renowned pension investment consultant who was brought in to clean up the Coingate scandal at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

In a 2023 essay published in the Toledo Blade, Ennis validated much or Dr. Fichtenbaum's analysis and concerns regarding STRS. Ennis wrote, "One of the fund’s trustees, Rudy Fichtenbaum, retired professor of economics at Wright State University, reached out to me for help in gauging how well the fund has performed through the eyes of a disinterested investment expert. (At the time, I was unacquainted with Professor Fichtenbaum or anyone else connected with STRS.)" 

Ennis went on to say, "My analysis indicated that the STRS fund underperformed a passively investable benchmark by 1.62 percentage points per year for the 13 years, a margin of underperformance that could not reasonably be attributed to bad luck, statistically speaking. 

I opined at the time that much of the underperformance could be attributed to unrecouped investment expenses incurred by STRS. An opportunity cost of that magnitude on a portfolio averaging, say, $60 billion in value over time, adds up to nearly $12.5 billion...I believe the retirees have a legitimate beef." 

Dr. Fichtenbaum has spent considerable time presenting his concerns to STRS membership both before and during his tenure on the board. 

The following is a sampling of Dr. Fichtenbaum’s writings / publications regarding STRS:

STRS Funded Ratio Using Active v Passive Investing - March 4, 2021 - LINK
How Transparent is STRS Ohio? - March 28, 2021 - LINK
STRS Ohio Benchmarks - April 9, 2021 - LINK
What are the characteristics of a good pension? - May 15, 2021 - LINK
My Response to 'STRS Ohio Responds to Report on the Pension Fund' - June 14, 2021 - LINK
Alternatives to the Current STRS Ohio Investing Strategy - May 22, 2021 - LINK
Reducing Risk and Restoring Our Pension Benefits - September 1, 2021 - LINK
Which Side Are You On? - December 7, 2021 - LINK
How We Can Restore the COLA and Reduce Member Contributions - February 22, 2022 - LINK
The Benchmark Scam: How STRS Manipulates Its Benchmarks to Enhance Bonuses - March 2, 2022 - LINK
Explaining the Benchmark Scam in Plain English - March 3, 2022 - LINK
Exorbitant Broker Commissions - March 18, 2022 - LINK
The Myth of Turning Over $65 Billion to Wall Street - March 30, 2022 - LINK
STRS OH v VFINX Part 1, April 7, 2022 - LINK
STRS OH v VFINX Part 2 - April 28, 2022 - LINK
STRS OH v VFINX Part 3 - May 1, 2022 - LINK
Why I Will Be Voting No - August 16, 2022 - LINK
The STRS Propaganda Machine - September 9, 2022 - LINK
Will the Real Costs Please Stand Up - September 22, 2022 - LINK
Through the STRS Looking Glass - November 3, 2022 - LINK
STRS Investment Beliefs: The Emperor’s New Clothes - February 13, 2023 - LINK
The Real Story 3 - April 30, 2023 - LINK
The Brave New World of Private Equity According to Matt Levine - July 18, 2023 - LINK
The Real Truth About Private Equity and Diversification - July 20, 2023 - LINK
Where’s the Alpha - August 24, 2023 - LINK
What Would Have Happened if STRS Used Index Investing? - December 18, 2023 - LINK

In Dr. Fichtenbaum's most recent post, he responds to the baseless allegations in the "anonymous" document that was circulated last week in an attempt to thwart reform efforts at STRS and promoting an "investigation" by Attorney General Dave Yost. Read his response here.