You will recall the letter dated 11 February 2016 from Ms.
Theresa Panuccio, Acting Chair of the Pension Board Assets and Liabilities Monitoring
Committee to the Secretary-General citing several grave operational risks in
the form of a “dangerously understaffed” Investment Management Division headed
by the Representative of the Secretary-General for Investments, Carolyn Boykin, and a “loud
danger signal” in the form of transactions conducted outside of established
procedures. (Ms. Panuccio’s letter and Mr. Takasu’s response of 16 February
2016 are both available on the blog).
Now, the Chair of the Pension Board Assets and Liabilities
Monitoring Committee, Pierre Sayour, writes on 7 March 2016, to the
Secretary-General, stating that neither Mr. Takasu’s response to
the Committee’s previous letter nor additional information provided to the
Committee by the RSG has allayed its concerns.
The Committee is concerned not only about the continuing
senior level vacancies (including Investment Director (D2) and Deputy Director for Risk Management and Compliance (D1)), Mr. Sayour states, but also about IMD’s continued
operation with an outdated Investment Policy Statement (IPS). The Committee is
further concerned about the RSG’s statement to the Committee at its 4-5
February 2016 meeting of "possible changes to the Fund’s investment philosophy and approved UNJSPF Risk Appetite. . . which
do not seem to recognize the fiduciary obligation of the Secretary-General and
the RSG to ‘achieve the maximum investment return within an acceptable level of
risk’ as expressed in the approved UNJSPF Risk Appetite Statement.”
Mr. Sayour requests for the Secretary-General’s intervention to ensure that “in light of the weakened investment
governance and risk management in a volatile investment market environment
under which IMD is currently operating, these matters are properly considered
and prioritized and concrete actions are promptly implemented to minimize risks
to our pensions.”
Mr. Takasu, on 29 March 2016, responds that recruitment
timelines and plans to expedite recruitment for the vacant senior posts are
underway; the RSG will present the updated Investment Policy Statement
to the next Pension Board meeting; the RSG has assured the Audit Committee
that "the transaction was in compliance with the respective procedures"; and that the “Secretary-General takes his fiduciary
responsibilities for the investment and the long-term sustainability of the
Fund very seriously [and] we will
continue to provide guidance and assistance to the RSG to assist her to
urgently address and conclude these critical matters.”
Note: This latest exchange of letters was found posted on the AFICS website today, under the title "Update on High-Level Vacancies in the Investments Management Division of the Pension Fund".
_________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment