I missed the introduction of the Pension Security Act. Rep Michael Castle introduced the bills in January and it was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. It’s a short bill, but would have a big effect on the disclosure of investments in private investment funds.
The bill revises a section of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and require of disclosure of which hedge funds the defined benefit pension plan has invested and the dollar amount of the investment.
The bill had a broad definition of “hedge fund”:
means an unregistered investment pool permitted under sections 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-3(c)(1), (7)) and section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77d(2)) and Rule 506 of Regulation D of the Securities and Exchange Commission (17 CFR 230.506).
The bill would require defined benefit pension plans on their annual financial statement to identify on a separate schedule, each “hedge fund in which amounts held for investment under the plan are invested as of the end of the plan year covered by the annual report and the amount so invested in such hedge fund.”
The Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Securities and Exchange Commission, would be charged with issuing initial regulations within one year.
References:
- H.R. 712 – Pension Security Act of 2009
- Section 103(b) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. 1023(b))