California ethics agency opens investigation into former CalPERS investment chief
The California agency that enforces state political conflict of interest laws confirmed it is opening an investigation into two complaints regarding former CalPERS Chief Investment Office Yu Ben Meng.
The Fair Political Practices Commission announced its review in an Aug. 11 letter to Meng’s attorney that the agency released to The Sacramento Bee on Monday.
Also Monday, State Controller Betty Yee reiterated her request for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System to launch its own “swift and thorough” inquiry into Meng.
She spoke at a special CalPERS Board of Administration meeting that primarily took place in a closed session outside of public review. She and CalPERS Board of Administration member Margaret Brown urged their colleagues to broaden a discussion about the investment chief.
CalPERS Chief Executive Officer Marcie Frost said the pension fund is preparing policy options for the board to consider next month.
“We will always do everything we can to be transparent and accountable in our mission to deliver retirement security to California’s public employees,” she said.
Meng resigned abruptly on Aug. 5 after being on the job overseeing the pension fund’s $412 billion investment portfolio for less than two years.
His departure followed an anonymous complaint to the state ethics agency that Meng had approved a $1 billion deal with Blackstone Group Inc., a New York-based financial firm in which Meng was a shareholder.
According to Meng’s conflict-of-interest disclosure, he held as much as $100,000 in Blackstone stock.
The FPPC received a second complaint regarding Meng the day after his resignation. It cited a news article about his exit from the fund, according to the letter to Meng’s attorney.
Meng’s resignation statement said that he needed to “focus on my health and on my family and move on to the next chapter in my life.”
Meng worked at CalPERS from 2008 to 2015 before leaving to become deputy chief investment officer for China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange. He returned when CalPERS hired him as chief investment officer.
Sacramento Bee Capitol Bureau Chief Adam Ashton contributed to this report.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 1:55 PM.