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Wilshire Assoc. renews local business license
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Posted on Jan 23 2012
By Moneth Deposa
Reporter
Reporter
Wilshire Associates, the former investment consultant of the NMI Retirement Fund, said it is reviewing a newly signed law which amended the four-month-old Beneficiaries Derivative Act.
Wilshire principal Maggie Ralbovsky told Saipan Tribune yesterday that they need to wait for their legal department’s full review of the amended law before making any further comments on the issue. However, she admitted that Wilshire has renewed its NMI business license.
“I will need to wait until my legal department fully reviews the situation before making any comments. Maybe I can share this with you: we renewed our NMI business license,” said Ralbovsky, who also described the repeal of the law as a “positive development.”
Senate Bill 17-94 is now Public Law 17-67 after it was signed Thursday by Gov. Benigno R. Fitial.
The governor believes that by repealing the Beneficiaries Derivative Act, the Fund can recover from its current situation and could be able to get back all its money managers and consultant.
Since the departure of Wilshire, the Fund attempted to find a new one but failed. Latest were the four proposers who were all described as non-responsive-or failed to meet the criteria and requirements of the request for proposals.
Last week, Fund chair Sixto Igisomar disclosed that estimated total portfolio of the pension plan is at $256.7 million, which the board intends to transfer to CDARS (certificate of deposit account registry service) while waiting for a new consultant to come in. Pursuant to law, the Fund is prohibited from making investment decisions without the advice of experts.
Wilshire was hired as investment consultant in October 2010. It replaced Merrill Lynch which served the pension agency for several years.
But in September 2011, Wilshire terminated its contract with the Fund as a result of the signing into law of the beneficiaries derivative act, which allows retirees and beneficiaries to sue on behalf of the Retirement Fund in case the pension agency’s officials failed to do so. Besides the investment consultant, the agency also lost its actuarial consultant along with all its money managers.
