Despite Goldman Sachs paying its top 30 executives in long-term shares rather than cash, and changing company policy to allow shareholders to vote on compensation policy at the next annual meeting, The Security Police and Fire Professionals of America Retirement Fund is suing the bank for a breach of fiduciary duties.
The pension fund claims that good performance by Goldman Sachs was driven by excessive risk taking, and rewarding employees ‘for corporate performance that has absolutely nothing to do with the skill of the company’s employees.
CEO Lloyd Blankfein and COO Gary Cohen are mentioned in the lawsuit as defendants. According to a company spokesperson, the lawsuit is without merit.
Pension funds have been attacking Wall Street with gusto in recent months. Calpers has sued State Street for overcharging on FX spreads. Missouri Public School Retirement System has also sued State Street over losses in its securities lending program.
In mid-November, Ohio Attorney General Richard Corday filed a lawsuit on behalf of a number of Ohio pension funds against Standard & Poors, Moodys, and Fitch for “providing unjustified and inflated ratings of mortgage-backed securities in exchange for lucrative fees from securities issuers.”
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