Former Reporter And Former Attorney General Settle Their Lawsuit Against Public Pension Fund

The state’s Democratic former attorney general and a former reporter are dropping a lawsuit they filed against Ohio’s largest public pension fund. But they say they’re just getting started in trying to find answers to questions about all five funds.

Former AG Marc Dann and ex-reporter John Damschroder wanted info about 25 funds in the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. OPERS had withheld and redacted some of that info, citing confidentiality agreements. Both sides have agreed to mediation, but Dann says he’s not sure what records they’ll be able to get.

“It's becoming clear that there is information that OPERS isn't able to access to do their due diligence to properly value those assets. That's the part of this that ought to be troubling to people," Dann says.

Dann and Damschroder are concerned about alternative investments held by all five public pension funds – those financial assets are held by many institutional investors but can be complex and risky. OPERS has said it can’t comment, but it’s happy the matter is being resolved.

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