Off target: How managers of Oregon's $100 billion pension fund ignored expert guidance and lost big

Off target: How managers of Oregon's $100 billion pension fund ignored expert guidance and lost big

Earlier this year, Grant School District Superintendent Mark Witty faced a $900,000 hike in what his district needs to pay this coming year to the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund. It was a crippling announcement. The cause of the increase? Lousy investment returns by the state agency empowered to invest public employees’ money. And when investment returns are poor, the state has to fund pension obligations by forcing local governments t…