Greg Ryberg's speech to Investment Commission

8/13/2019 Greg Ryberg's speech to Investment Commission

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November 21, 2013

COO Comments

Good morning. Let me start by thanking James

Manning, our Investment Commission staff Director of

Technology, for his work with SC ETV to enable us to be

fully transparent in this Commission meeting.

It was interesting for me to observe the

entrepreneurial negotiations between 2 state agencies to

deliver this much needed service.

Many of you may not realize that James Manning

also serves on the Richland 2 School District Board.

Thanks James for your work here and your civic


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involvement and commitment to make South Carolina a

better place.

I also wish to recognize the nearly 150,000 retirees

for their involvement in the operation and accountability

of the Investment Commission.

We all work for their benefit and the benefit of the

additional 223,000 working members of the Retirement

System. The Trust Fund is their moneyall of them. I

trust that we all will keep this in mind today and every

day.

Let me now give you my observations and

expectations of the Investment Commission and my task

ahead.


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Many of you may know that I come to this position

with what I consider a very deep background in this

issue. I authored or co-authored every piece of

legislation dealing with the Investment Commission

going back to its creation in 2005. I authored or co-

authored the recent major legislation concerning the

Retirement Systems including the creation of the Public

Employee Benefits Authority which is the trustee of the

Fund that the Investment Commission invests. I had, and

I have, a passion for this subject which for too long was a

can kicked down the road.

I have an intimate knowledge of the issues

surrounding the SC Retirement System and the


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Investment Commission and of the sentiments of

decision makers in SC relative to those entities. One of

those sentiments that I am compelled to point out is

Section 9-1-1310 (A) of the South Carolina Code that

provides that, The Retirement System Investment

Commission shall invest and reinvest the funds of the

retirement system. The General Assembly created the

Commission as a whole to be the sole investment

authority. No provision or authority exists for any lone

public official to veto or amend an investment decision of

the Commission.

The General Assembly also provided that the

Commissioners, with one exception, be qualified


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individuals, that is that they have some sort of work

experience or education that would inform them of just

what is going on here. The point of that was to take the

politics out of the investment of the participants in the

plan, both employees and retirees.

The one individual that may serve without those

qualifications, of course, is the Treasurer of the State of

South Carolina. It is the case that the holder of that office

may appoint someone with those qualifications, just like

the other members of the Budget and Control Board, but

that is not mandatory. Now, my understanding is that

there may be some confusion as to why the General

Assembly decided to leave the possibility open for that


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war heroAND HE WAS QUALIFIED! For those reasons, I

had no qualms about Mr. Patterson serving on the

Commission. The General Assembly simply failed to

anticipate in the statute the day when Mr. Patterson

would be gone.

The General Assembly nonetheless, as noted in

Section 9-1-1310 (A) of the South Carolina Code, was

clear about the fact that each individual, regardless of

whether or not they hold one of the qualifications,

simply serves as a voting member of the Commission,

nothing more and nothing less. Each individual is one of

six votes, period. An assertion to the contrary contradicts

the law.


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I tell you this as a person who was there when it was

written and when it was voted into law almost

unanimously by both Republicans and Democrats. I know

what the law says and why it says it, and I will operate

the Investment Commission accordingly. Those who

want to operate differently will do so only following a

decision by a court.

I am pleased to have finished nearly six weeks as

Chief Operating Officer at the Investment Commission. I

also am pleased to report that the atmosphere in our

office has been calm and steady. Our staff is working

hard and functioning like I think you would envision any

other investment office of our size.


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In a recent discussion with an agency director, he

said that if he were to list the 10 assignments that he

wouldnt take, this job at the Investment Commission

would be on that list. To me that was true irony because

in retirement, if I had established my own bucket list of

potential jobs, then this would be my number 1 pick

period.

I regret the conditions that led to my arrival, but

those are past. I am committed to moving forward. I

operate in the present with the eye to our future. My

commitment includes my intention to address potential

issues early and straightforwardly and to arrive at

solutions quickly. This office is a business office and not a


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political office, and, as such, it must enjoy proper

decorum, mutual respect, and stability to function

properly.

To date in my dealings with Investment Commission

staff, I have found them to be honest, competent, hard-

working and totally committed to maximizing our

investment return within the risk profile that is

consistent with the Annual Investment Plan. I am truly

proud to have the opportunity to work with such

dedicated public servants, and I believe that they will

continue to succeed on behalf of the retirees and

employees covered by the South Carolina Retirement

System.


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I have not discovered any evidence of assertions

made by others including: altered financial statements;

waste of state assets; inadequate internal controls;

violation of state security laws; or ethics issues involving

conflicts of interests.

I have looked closely for evidence of the last charge

concerning ethics, and I have found absolutely none. I

have not found a hidden worldthat no one knows

anything about. I have not found true the accusation

that the Commission misleads the public at every turn

or that it is deceitful. I have not found anyone here

that is dishonorable orthat lacks a moral core.There

is an excellent moral core at the Investment Commission


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that has been unjustly belittled and demeaned. As I am

certain you are aware this has had an adverse effect on

our teamsmorale.

I have reviewed previous Commission meetings not

only thru the videos but also thru the minutes, and it

appears that the meetings very easily can be made more

efficient and effective. Very often allegations are made

that at a very minimum are misleading and upon further

review are discovered to be untrue. In addition there are

topics that are mentioned as an aside but that deserve

more attention than a sound bite or a non-productive

argument. The statement from the September meeting

that a discovery was made of a previously unreported


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$1 billion loss is an example. That statement was not

supported by any evidence at the time, but it certainly

qualified as political red meat for the cameras. I learned

in my previous life as a politician of 20-plus years that

sometimes the truth doesnt get in the way of a good

sound bite, but responsible adults handling someone

elses retirement money cannot operate in that fashion.

I suggest going forward that such non-agenda items

be identified by the Chairman to be noted in the minutes

as a Pending Question. Upon conclusion of the meeting

all Pending Questions will be listed and sent to all

Commissioners. Staff then will provide the relevant facts

that address the question and those will be included with


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the finalized minutes. This, of course, is at the discretion

of the Chairman and is only a suggestion on my part, but

it may help us avoid lengthy distractions during the

scheduled business of a Commission Meeting.

I was privileged to own and operate my own

business for twenty-two years, and I was honored to

employ at its height over five hundred wonderful

individuals. I always felt that my employees, whether

there were five or five hundred, worked with me and not

for me.

My policy toward employees will be exactly the

same here as it was in my business. I will demand respect

and congeniality among all, and I cannot allow hostility,


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intimidation or threats from any, especially

management. Efforts to control or blame Investment

Commission employees or to be intolerant of their views

likewise will not be allowed. My hope is that such

situations never will arise, but I believe that my record on

these issues is clear. Investment Commission employees

will work in a safe environment.

Again my intention is that the Investment

Commission be about the business of maximizing our

investment return within the risk profile which is

consistent with the Annual Investment Plan. It has been

my experience thus far that Investment Commission staff

also has this as their number one priority. This fact is a


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tribute to those Commissioners who have hired and

developed the administration and staff despite the

politics thru which they have had to navigate.

Our ultimate bosses, the over 370,000 South

Carolina retirees and employees, deserve no less. This is

my sole focus, and it is shared by Investment Commission

staff. I will not allow that focus to be diverted.

I have noted that some press accounts have cast my

hiring as a prelude or indeed an invitation to some sort of

combat. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have

said, and I will say again, that I came here to work for the

over 370,000 participants in the South Carolina

Retirement System, retirees and active employees, such


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as you see on the screen. I am working to keep the smiles

on their faces, and combat is not going to achieve that.

I attempted to begin my tenure on the right foot by

sending a letter to Commissioner Loftis that contains

many of these sentiments. I welcomed him in the letter

to visit my office at any time going forward to inform

me of your concerns, complaints or grievances. I said

that, I will listen, and I will act in accordance with what

is best for [the Investment Commission]. I have had no

reply to that communication, and I only can conclude

therefore that all is well.

My belief is that differences of opinion are not

personal and can be constructive. This was quite evident


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when we in the General Assembly developed the

Investment Commission and when we later adopted

revised benefits that were consistent with our ability to

fund them. Constructive differences were resolved thru

dialogue and not thru an uninterested intermediary such

as the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times.

I have been asked about my work schedule, and my

reply is that I am on the job 24/7. When I had the honor

of serving in the South Carolina Senate my home phone

number was always listed and my personal cell phone

number was and still is on my home answering machine.

Whether I am in the Commission office, or a Senator or

House members office, I am never out of reach by phone


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or email, and I know that those who have contacted me

have found me responsive.

This is not a part-time job for me. I cannot work part-

time and repair what the Inspector General calls an

increasingly toxic workplace that undermines RSICs

energy and focus on its core mission. I want to repeat

that the Inspector General called the offices of the

Investment Commission an increasingly toxic

workplace. I have told you, and I believe, that such an

atmosphere is not a result of any of the staff in this

office. Too much damage has been done for me to give

this job anything less than my full-time attention and my

full-time effort.


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I fully understand the job ahead in all its

components. I will not stop until that job is finished, and I

will not allow distractions to further undermine the good

people here and the work that they do on behalf of the

employees and retirees of South Carolina. Those familiar

with my tenure in business and in the South Carolina

Senate know that I dont seek confrontation- however

backing away when confronted, especially with petty and

non-constructive matters, is not an option for me. The

Senators that I served with know that the one attribute

that I took into elected officeand the one that I left

elected office withis my integrity. I did not allow that

to be questioned then, and I will not allow it now.


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I appreciate the people who work here. I appreciate

the stakeholders with whom I have met and whose

concerns I have heard. I appreciate those who have

entrusted to me the task of preventing further harm to

the Trust Fund and indeed setting the Commission on a

positive path. I hope that everyone in this room shares

that goal. We have limited time for those who do not.

I want to close with a couple of items. The

Commission voted for a budget proposal that seeks to

add several FTEs in the coming fiscal year. The FTE

request not only seeks to establish the proper personnel

level for an investment office with our particular mission

but also to reduce the amount of fees that we pay to


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external managers for the same service. I am optimistic

about the reception that we might receive from the

General Assembly.

Later today Andrew will discuss management

policies regarding conflicts of interest, personal trading

and other topics concerning internal ethics and ethical

conduct. I am pleased with Compliances work to reduce

our practices into written policies. Reducing present

practices to writing in no way suggests that any conduct

other than strictly ethical conduct now occurs here at

RSIC.

I will leave you with an invitation to look for a draft

strategic plan for RSIC that will be coming to you soon via


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email. I hope that the chairman will want to discuss it at

the February meeting. We ask for your thoughts and

comments prior to that time.

Thank you

Documents

Greg Ryberg's speech to Investment Commission