FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 12, 2018
IPFI Applauds Corona Police Sgt. Jason Perez on His Election to the CalPERS Board of Administration
The California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) held board elections last week with Priya Mathur, who also serves as board president, losing to Jason Perez, a sergeant of the Corona Police Department in southern California. Perez campaigned on the premise of prudent pension fund management and responsible investment and was subsequently chosen to represent active public agency members on the CalPERS Board of Administration. IPFI would like to applaud our nation’s largest pension system for electing an official who prioritizes prudent investment strategies over politics. In his campaign, Perez championed the ideas of sound investing and professionalism in management and keeping the political whims of board members away from the livelihood of pensioners.
Throughout his campaign, Perez referenced responsible ESG investing in his platform, stating that the investment strategy should only be employed when investments add to the plan’s fiscal health. This same stance was outlined in our recent IPFI white paper, “ESG Investing for Public Pensions: Does it Add Financial Value?” Like Jason Perez and his campaign, IPFI advocates for ESG when investments prove to be profitable for the pension plan while denouncing ESG investments when pursued for a political agenda.
The Institute for Pension Fund Integrity seeks to bring transparency and accountability to the public pension system. With elected officials like Jason Perez in California, public servants are one step closer to a secure retirement and addressing the more than trillion-dollar unfunded pension liabilities across the United States. At IPFI, we would like to say congratulations to Jason Perez and we hope that he continues to advocate for the prudent management of public pension plans across the state of California.
The Institute for Pension Fund Integrity seeks to ensure that local, state and federal leaders are held responsible for their choices in investment, led not by political ideation and opinion but instead by fiduciary responsibility. IPFI is a non-partisan, non-profit organization based out of Arlington, Virginia, and spearheaded by former Connecticut State Treasurer Christopher B. Burnham.