US senator plans Bill to block Federal Pensions investing in China
Senator Marco Rubio plans legislation to block U.S. government pensions from investing in Chinese stocks after the board overseeing the funds put off a decision that would add exposure to China.
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board on Monday addressed concerns that switching the benchmark for its $50 billion TSP I Fund to mirror an index with Chinese assets would undermine U.S. economic and national security. A decision was delayed for at least two weeks, according to Kim Weaver, the board’s spokeswoman.
Rubio, a Republican from Florida, called the board’s move not to reverse its plan “unacceptable’’ in a statement Monday and said he would introduce bipartisan legislation “to ensure that federal retirement savings can never be a source of wealth funding the Chinese Communist Party at the expense of our nation’s future prosperity.’’
At a meeting in Washington, FRTIB’s outside consultant, Aon Hewitt, reiterated its recommendation for the fund to resemble the MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Investable Market Index, said Weaver. China is the third-largest country weight in that index, representing about 7.5%.
The 2017 decision by the TSP board to increase U.S. government workers’ pension fund exposure to Chinese stocks — and the debate over potentially sticking to that decision — has come under fire from some in the Trump administration and a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
A spokesman for Rubio said the bill, which does not yet have co-sponsors, would preclude the savings plan from investing in products or stocks in countries where the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is restricted from accessing financial accounting information.
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