half a billion dollars in hedge funds she said, "no the question we ask why would you want the city employees and retirees to invest when you don't have your money invested in hedge funds that's the question we have to ask (clapping) so why are you investing in hedge funds that's the question that the city workers have to ask and foreman the city of san francisco has a policy they don't want to invest in fossil fuels when you vote to invest in hedge funds they are investing no fossil fuels nerds they can violate the city and county of san francisco rules and lastly officer is being suited by a black officer in the city and county of san francisco who arrested a fellow public defender who was defending african-american clients and sued her of agreeing what's the pension board is supposedly representing the city workers for doing her job when he should have been in a hearing instead arrested a city employee you should recuse users and not be talking about this we have to stop the hedge funds slchlt and most of the employees are hurting they can't live in san francisco we need to protect our hedge funds and protect the public and we don't have another bust of our pensions thank you (clapping.) >> good afternoon tom o core president of the san francisco firefighters this is a tough act to follow i'm not here to to personal acquisitions against the board i'm here to say thank you for the excellent rate of returns we've received over the years we shouldn't politicalize but thank you for all the men and women of the city of chicago we trust our judgment to make the right decision thank you. >> everyone please give the speakers of the courtesy of sharing their remarks. >> thank you, again, for your services to the men and women of san francisco we trust in your judgment. >> thank you. i'm gregory i work for the public library and member of the c i as a librarian i deal with information and facts like everyone said everything that anyone what that point to by hedge fund their risky i think in terms of the hedge funds that relate to a larger part of the economy in investing and if they lose that's ones the workers i'm going to have to live on a pension i don't know if everyone will but if that pension goes down you don't believe i don't want any daughter to support me in my old age (laughter). >> it woirdz me the retirement board concerns this financial instrument at this time i urge you not to vote for any money to the hedge funds thank you. >> (clapping.) hello, i'm a follower social erica a mesh of the pink panthers and other organizations everything i've wanted to say has been said we've done a lot of research and discussion during the computer and i wanted to say i heard a rumor about an hour ago or so we don't get our information necessarily under any board member although we've poling to some of us have spoken to several you know we get you know we get this from other sources you here this over and over about warning busting and incurring southern california list that article is automotive all over the place i'm opposing hedge funds i've been here before their risky and the business of transparency is it makes me nervous because you can't detract i want to be socially responsible i don't want to invest our hard earned money into something that's harmful to the environment or another thing that are harmful that will come back to bite you you as a board if those hedge funds are invested this way then you'll have twice as many people including anti vial groups this place is heating up you've seen the increase of people coming in we're educating each other you know, i wouldn't put that on one member that is not supposed to talk to us we're the beneficiaries not the mayor's office this is what makes many of us mad in terms of the city and county they're in a bad direction supporting the one percent people are being 1r50ek9d right and left this has to do with the mind set many of us n are in a different mindset would people that included the minority included on the boards and with the people that are for civil rights and escalation their salaries. >> ten seconds. >> we're in the same place trying to keep people in their positions i've read about the people online the financiers that see that that way you don't invest to make money and this is always political thank you. (clapping.) >> welcome larry. >> good afternoon commissioner makras and members of the board i'm larry griffin a compliant officer for the labor investment and in my past life been a district attorney investigator i'm the at large vice president of local 21 i'm the at large vice president for them i also serve on the pension board prop c and its cost model is based on this board to make sure the investments and funds are in the second degree in a prudent and sophisticated manner as a former member and exclusive officer nonetheless after studying hedge funds and the alternatives in the last several months we feel this is the way to insure that regardless of market conditions it achieves the maximize and the fiduciary duties you lineups listen to stewart's to make sure the funds achieve their 7.58 percentage we urge you and the local 21 is concerned of the manner of the board some of the members have engaged in ongoing and going through this process to address that i also want to thank all the board members you're a public certainty and is in room is a public certainty we should remain that thank you. >> my name is richard a retired city worker and worked 12 years at the city's most dangerous job this is like the public talks to you and we talk and you listens but we could do better on the trofrld acres or issues having some manner of sessions the camino islands is avoiding the tax and regulars and is like the jolly reorganizes in the stars and stripes i want to refer to the civil grand juries finding reveling the unrealistically high investment of returns is for the mandated member of the city contributions is little regard of prudent management the gentleman was kind enough to meet me he said we have to take significant risks to get 7 and a half percent the grand jury recommended we adopt the raefkz and consistent formula for the expected return rate and we should investigate quantify and address the risks in the portfolio and the hedge funds don't give us that they don't give anyone that and finally there's 7 finding the public showed that the low risk policies performed better better than the high policy this hedge funds we lost $60 million there was no due diligence on the $750 million investment so that's what i have to say thank you. >> thank you (clapping.) >> good afternoon commissioners my name is david i'm the san francisco regional director for the local 1020 i'm going to read to you a letter that was sent two days by the local president roxanne she writes bear patrol cars i'm writing on behalf of the santa fe's by the 1020 local and the retirees that had their retirements is secured by the board the board failed to explore the option to achieve the interest in the funds and protecting it against down side leaving the union 1020 no choices bus to allocated the funds to hedge funds we've you turned out in numbers and signed petitions before you to competence the well founded concerns the risks southern direction with hedge funds and the allocation process and the lack of transparency associated with the process and the failure to respond to the questions about the risks and other issues raised in our july 8th letter in our view the staff and consultants have failed to plan for participants by engaging in an upside down process and selected hedge funds as the answer brother they've seated did board concerns we believe in the outset of the application process absent a more thoughtful process we ask you to act on behalf of thousands of s c i us by voting against the changes to this application sincerely the board pointing (clapping.) >> hello, i'm elaine i work in san francisco public library i've worked since 1985 i don't know about hedge funds i did research and found interesting information finance resort for the new york times is gretchen wrote in an article dated september 20th, 2014, that after cal percent she wrote this article to invest in hedge fund and concluded there are sound reasons to oppose public pensions investing in hedge funds and some of the reasons she stated are they're lightly regulated and their fees are high and according to the prepin limited a research fund hedge funds has vastly under performed the stock index over the last 3 and 5 years other. rightone: show them laughing and other republicans a to opposition their fees are high they're not liquid and about as transparent as mud i found another graph that in a magazine called trends e and i'm not amount with 24 magazine, however they sited in 2013, the average hedge fund gained 7 percent by craft the accepting 5 hundred went up a staten island 72 percent i'm pope's the following requests to the retirement board why are you planning on investing our money in hedge funds given this information thank you very much (clapping.) >> retired civil certainty and rebellious senior citizen. >> hedge funds are being property as a means to protect the san francisco retirement funds against recession and means for the market rate necessary for the extra money if we 0 adopt hedge funds there are the annual 2 percent savings the fund and 20 percent and the hiring of personnel to assure proper investment this will hold comfortable whether or not the fund performs and good returns are offset by the itself 20 pictures costs where it increases the risk another borrowers must be paid off first and in cased of that we may not be paid off we can't are sure if the hired 34i6r9s will choose the best hedge fund and in the wake of wall street funds they went south we'll have no idea about the operations of investor and until a brave journalist exposes them this is accident ultimate transparency i should add the police and fire who risk life and limbs for the city many of those retirees will suffer adversely if those fund crash this have no social security to back them up and the thing the best service that uniform on this board can serve those who have risked life and limb for the city really examine the hedge funds in the way it warren buffett and george sore roses has i urge you to look at those in the interests of all retirees thank you (clapping.) >> hello, i'm 56 i can't i can't think when warren buffett tackles we should listen he's opted to investing in hedge funds his future is a result of his sound judgment when i planned my retirement we alternated my goals over the last years so my portfolio became more conservative this is a common and well proven strategy why then should the city's retirement board do the opt taking larger risks and paying higher fees for that privilege the phrase hedging your bit comes to mind in a disturbing way you want to headlong and bets with the hedge funds this is your bet which is regarded with our money all bets should be off when it comes to risky business this is not a game. (clapping.) >> good afternoon board members my name is maria i come today as a s c i u member and activist and i also want to support and give cede dance to the letter you've received from maxine sharpening is i'm particular and very delinquent about making sure we don't have tape down decisions decisions are local i can stand here with certainty saying this was our mentioning members that led this and we researched into this decision does, in fact, hold a lot of weighed and that's why i'm here to speak i'm a 26-year-old in terms of working in the city well, not 26 years old far from that but i look forward to ref any first retirement check this july so but i'm here to say that wherever i think of entering into risky behavior or taking a risk i look at the assessment of whether or not it's just myself that is in jeopardy or will be hurt or co-lateral damage so we want you to you know take pause and contemplate that as well we shouldn't be here to countryside another unions and organizations like i support and appreciate our self-determination i also uphold theirs as well i believe that how much i know that your job is difficult and i couldn't do your job one of the things i know for sure part of your job is to listen to us; right? the beneficiaries of the system and i know a lot of those make the xhments commitments when you come forward to get our endorsements we want to remind you of 3 particular part of job it's not politicizing we come forward but you're right and duty and again i wish you great success in our decisions from our point of view. >> (clapping). >> michael lion i worked at san francisco general for 15 years alongside city workers they did public workers in general work at low wages because they have the promise of a secure health benefits despite the banners optimism this system is starting to fall apart it is from europe they're going to be hitting the united states as obama is just about right now proposing new investment in new invasion of the middle east we'll be hit worse and worse the retirees we're being considered useless less feeders the cities are saying they don't need to pay pepgsz they're trying to take away is. >>and now the san francisco pension board wants to use the hedge funds why do the hedge funds exist because this economy is n incapable of making sufficient money money it considers sufficient by creating the things we need housing and health care and education the system can't survive making those anymore all it can do is make paper profits and paper profit are what kill people and make people lose their homes and jobs and that's what hedge funds are all about it is disgusting you guys are thinking about it (clapping.) >> welcome. >> hi, i'm dwayne a social weshg the city and s c i u member thank you for the opportunity for letting us speak up my concern with the proposal is one of transparency a lot of people picked up on that as well as the cost benefit ratio of this kind choices the wall street journal said hedge funds are in a 6 year slump they've underperformed in the accepting 5 one hundred and their citing van graduate fidelity and swabbing fund that investments would be had for a quarter of one percent impaired to hedge funds that are 20 percent of the game i think what unshelts settles me is the lack of transparent i looked at the website and found little agendas this information should be shared freely and only i realize not every last detail can be auditor in a public forum but more transparency this is why we want to go in this directions to lead us here, here and here and we're trusting those people with those assets thank you (clapping.) >> good afternoon. my name is is richard gale i'm a retiree i've by that retired for are 6 years from city college of san francisco whether i worked for 24 years in the english department back in 1997 through 2000 i was a truest of the local 790 the perverts of 1021 i have some idea of issues here i understand what the fiduciary trust medians i doubt that everyone ass is as confident that you do i can think of no idea that could be worse than this possibly back in our reagan was running for president and this stooge came up with the idea of trickle down economics how does that work out for us you know this is not going to work any better i think that because there's much mentioned already on the efficiency of hedge funds in terms of their information they give you the amounts they charge $100 million a year at 28 percent of our investments rest of our investments of 72 don't come close to that and going to charge us 2 percent if they derail and what universe is this a good idea? i'm you know i'm concerned because i came late into this system and when i retired i had to pay $28,000 out of my savings to buy the rest of my retirement i don't want any of you messing around with that do the right thing and don't play games with our money i'm going to remind you this is our money not yours thank you (clapping.) >> commissioners and staff my name is michael i'm first of all, a police retirees and pa welcome and 49 member of the retirement system i want to thank you board members and staff for taking on this momentous decision ass that is before you today it is probably one of the most important decision you as board members make in terms of how our trust fund works i commend you for the time and effort to make sure that you do best for the 3 really important groups that are watching you fiercely the people with liability are the citizens and the taxpayers of the city and county of san francisco they're the ones with the real liability if this decide is not made right and secondly active employees because of prop c they saw their contribution rates rise from 7 and a half to 11 or 12 not because of the good work you've done it didn't increase last year and this year i think the same thing but board members and staff active city employees are looking for you to do a great job they want to see it rise towards 7 and a half that's a four and a half percent pay raise if you do this right they'll get and lastly retirees retirees would like to get a full supplemental one cola that can't happen unless the application is going well i'm not fearing hedge funds i've been watching hedge funds for 25 years and gentleman before me said why were they created well, it should be a clue they're important to someone they've 7 thousand 5 hundred holding $3 trillion and worldwide one out of $4 managed and hedge funds exams from the public or