Angelina Jolie, Christopher Cox and Pension Funds
Strange bedfellows? Maybe not. Here's why.
1. Angelina Jolie has agreed to play the role of Dagney Taggart in the film verson of Ayn Rand's best-selling book, Atlas Shrugged.
2. Christopher Cox wrote a review of Letters of Ayn Rand.
3. Christopher Cox heads the SEC.
4. The SEC just proposed several major changes that potentially impact pension funds' investments in hedge funds, securities issued by companies that comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and non-U.S. issuers of equity, respectively.
In addition, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is busy advocating improved regulations in order to promote U.S. competitiveness. His remarks to the Economic Club of New York referenced a forthcoming Conference on Capital Markets and Economic Competitiveness early next year that will address regulatory, accounting and legal issues. He added that the strength of the U.S. economy can be a springboard to reform entitlement programs and "focus on economic and educational policies that will add jobs, improve productivity, and result in tangible income growth for all Americans."
With a new Congress and talk of regulatory investigations and oversight hearings, school's still out on how pension sponsors are likely to fare. At the same time, given the clear and significant link between regulation and pension finance, we all have a vested interest in monitoring what's happening in Washington.
Angelina may do a terrific job at entertaining us as capitalist heroine but it's the lawmakers and chief regulators who are getting the big reviews in pension land. No popcorn but lots of action.
