OMG Obama's Pension includes Chinese and Cayman Investments

[Wehrwolfen]

OMG, Obama’s pension includes Chinese and Cayman investments​

10/20/2012
Neil Munro

President Barack Obama and his supporters continue to slash at Gov. Mitt Romney for keeping some of his private-sector wealth overseas, even though the president’s Illinois pension is also invested in Chinese companies and a fund in the Cayman Islands.

“When he talks about getting tough on China, keep in mind that Gov. Romney invested in companies that were pioneers of outsourcing to China, and is currently investing in countries — in companies that are building surveillance equipment for China to spy on its own folks,” Obama insisted during the Oct. 16 presidential debate at Hofstra University.

The president’s overseas wealth is part of the pension he earned from his six years in Democratic-run Illinois legislature. The pension, which is worth between $50,000 and $100,000, is managed by the Illinois State Board of Investment.

The board has invested its assets — which include money owed to Obama and numerous other Illinois Democrat legislators, political appointees and civil servants — in a variety of revenue-generating funds and companies.

The board operates under state rules that bar investments in companies that do business with the Islamic government of Sudan. But there are no limits on investments in funds and companies that aren’t connected with Sudan.

One of the board’s funds, Advent International Group VI-A, is based in the Cayman Islands.

The fund is run by Advent CR, Inc., which is a subsidiary of Advent CR Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation and the legal “parent” of “Advent International GPE VI-A Limited Partnership, a Cayman Islands limited partnership,” according to a August 2009 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The board’s 2011 report says that Cayman fund is worth $17.5 million, or 0.00015 percent of the $11.5 billion fund, which is split among hundreds of investment vehicles.

The pension fund has also invested in a series of Chinese companies, including government-run companies.

In 2011, 19 percent of board’s funds, worth $2 billion, was invested in foreign companies. Obama’s share of that foreign investment is less than $20,000.

Chinese companies — including their managers and workers — operate under China’s authoritarian government, whose leading families simultaneously own companies and hold government posts. Their workers earn far less than American workers, and their safety and working conditions are usually significantly worse.

The board’s 2011 report said it owned a $1 million bank loan held by Sensata Technologies. Obama’s share of that loan is under a dollar.

Sensata is closing its U.S. facility to move 170 jobs into China, prompting outrage from Democrats, who have used Sensata as a club against Romney. The GOP presidential nominee’s money-managers have also invested a slice of his wealth in the company.

Late Friday, MSNBC’s Ed Schultz hosted his evening show outside the closed Sensata plant, along with what appeared to be dozens of laid-off employees. Schultz called the Freeport, Illinois location of the plant ‘Bainport,’ and spent most of the show telling viewers to vote for President Obama.

99 Uniting, a progressive group, is also highlighting Romney’s ties to the company, and on Oct. 17, several protesters were arrested during a protest at the plant.

However, 99 United declined to comment The Daily Caller about Obama’s ties, via the Illinois pension fund, to the company.

[excerpt]



Next Page 1 2


Read more: Obama’s pension includes Chinese and Cayman investments | The Daily Caller