Horgan: should he be criminally investigated by the SEC?

[Gone_Fishin]

When one's actions directly influence the share price of a publicly traded company, and one is simultaneously profiting from buying those shares which one's actions have driven down, securities legislation deems this a criminal act. Horgan's actions have driven down the price of KM shares, while his own pension plan is purchasing them on his behalf. I believe Horgan should be criminally investigated.


Cries of 'rank hypocrisy' as disclosures reveal B.C. government pension fund invests in Kinder Morgan

BCI manages pension investments for 569,000 British Columbians, including B.C. Premier John Horgan's pension

Geoffrey Morgan
May 7, 2018
8:58 PM EDT


CALGARY — While the British Columbia government wages war against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, its own employees are invested in the U.S. company behind the $7.4-billion project.

The British Columbia Investment Management Corp. (BCI), which manages the pension funds for B.C.’s public sector workers, owns stakes in the Canadian oil and gas industry as well as pipeline companies Kinder Morgan Inc., Enbridge Inc. and Pembina Pipeline Corp. Houston-based Kinder Morgan’s Canadian subsidiary, Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd., is developing the Trans Mountain Expansion. Kinder Morgan owns about 70 per cent of the voting interests of the Canadian unit. BCI does not hold shares in Kinder Morgan Canada.

Recent disclosures filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show BCI has increased its exposure to Kinder Morgan in recent months even as the province has escalated its efforts to block the project, according to data gleaned by the Financial Post. The most recent SEC filings show BCI purchased an additional 21,214 shares during the fourth quarter of 2017 in Kinder Morgan, which recently suspended work on the pipeline.

The purchases bring BCI’s total stake in Kinder Morgan to 1,122,716 shares, a position worth more than US$18 million at current prices. BCI’s total net assets under management as of Dec. 31 were $135.5 billion.

B.C. Premier John Horgan declined to comment on what effect his government’s opposition to the pipeline expansion might have on BCI pension investments, which also include major oilsands producers Suncor Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc., both of which have signed up to ship oil through the expanded pipeline between Alberta and B.C.

B.C. organizations that support the pipeline described the government’s stance, given BCI’s investments in the sector, as “rank hypocrisy.”

“Even if you bike to work every day, your food and supplies are delivered to you via trucks using oil and gas and in many cases your retirement funds are directly tied to this vital industry,” Kris Sims, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said in an email. “The B.C. government needs to wake up to this reality and fast before they do further damage to Canadians.”

BCI manages the pensions for the province’s teachers, provincial government and municipal government employees and also manages assets for several B.C. government agencies and bodies. All told, BCI manages pension investments for 569,000 British Columbians as well as the insurance benefit funds for 2.3 million workers in the province through WorkSafe BC. Janice Toker, spokesperson for the Victoria-based Crown corporation, said in an email “we do not publicly discuss our investment strategy.”

A spokesperson for the provincial finance ministry said BCI “fulfills its investment role on behalf of pension boards without any direction or influence from the B.C. government or MLAs.” She confirmed BCI oversees investments for MLA’s pensions, which would include that of Horgan.

BCI’s largest energy holding is Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. The fund recently purchased 90,368 shares in the super major, bringing its stake to 2,035,641 shares, worth more than US$157 million.

A breakdown from Bloomberg shows 5.8 per cent of BCI’s public investments is in the energy sector, worth about $3.8 billion.

In recent months, BCI has spent millions of dollars buying up U.S. oil and gas equities, including oilfield services companies like Halliburton Co., Helmerich & Payne Inc., and Schlumberger Ltd., as well as shale producers Midland, Texas-based Concho Resources Inc., Oklahoma City-based Continental Resources Inc. and Houston’s Occidental Petroleum Corp.

“They’re playing the biggest service companies and the biggest production growth basin,” said Rafi Tahmazian, senior portfolio manager and director at Toronto-based Canoe Financial, of BCI’s recent purchase.

The B.C. government needs to wake up to this reality and fast before they do further damage to Canadians

Kris Sims, B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Many of the U.S. oil companies BCI has recently purchased have assets in the Permian basin in Texas, which is expected to lead global oil supply growth next year.

Tahmazian, who’s focus is on the oil and gas sector, also said that based on the composition of BCI’s biggest energy holdings, the fund seems to be taking a generalist or “index hugging” approach to the oil sector. BCI also recently increased its exposure to major U.S. producers such as Chevron Corp., Exxon, ConocoPhillips, Phillips 66, Exxon, and others. All told, BCI owns stock in more than 30 oil and gas companies.

snip

In its annual report on ‘responsible investing’, BCI said it was a signatory to the Climate Action plan to “take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, consistent with the goal of the Paris Agreement to keep global temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius.”

The fund also said it voted in favour of a human rights shareholder proposals at meetings of both Enbridge and Marathon and urged them to report on the due diligence process they follow to identify environmental and social risks, including indigenous rights, when reviewing potential acquisitions.

“Shareholders are concerned that legal and reputational risks related to oil and gas projects
have grown steadily,” according to the BCI report.


http://business.financialpost.com/inves ... der-morgan

[Bettyb]

This is just insane, kick this bunch out before it's too late

[flamingfingers]

Horgan has nothing to do with the pension plans:

VaughnPalmer
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#bcpoli Four things worth knowing about BC gov't pensions (4): Politicians do not decide who manages them or how they are invested. Good thing too.

VaughnPalmer
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#bcpoli Four things worth knowing about BC gov't pensions (3): They are well managed. S&P recently cited the healthy state of pension plans as one reason for reaffirming Triple A credit rating.

VaughnPalmer
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#bcpoli Four things worth knowing about BC gov't pensions (2): Pension managers chosen by board. Majority of members of board are chosen by unions, not government.

VaughnPalmer
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@VaughnPalmer
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#bcpoli Four things worth knowing about BC government pensions (1): They are managed by professionals whose job is to maximize returns, so taxpayers don't have to bail out plans

[Leifer]

I am no fan of Horgan or the NDP.
The sooner this abortion of a coalition/partnership is replaced.....the better.

But this link to the public sector worker pension plans seems kind of "out there".
The NDP and Greens are doing enough identifiable damage without the need to link something like this to the Premiership.

IMO of course.

[Gone_Fishin]

If there wasn't a sudden buying blitz by Horgan's pension fund after he drove the share prices down, I'd say there was no connection. But the "coincidence" STINKS.

PS - Vaughn Palmer knows squat about securities legislation. The folks at the FINANCIAL Post have much more credibility.

[goalie]

*removed* Nowhere does it say he should be investigated by SEC.

[goalie]

*removed*

[Veovis]

Any portfolio manager worth their wages would buy on KM at this dip. Seems prudent. It's related and the political optics are bad certainly but no colluded crime that I can figure.

Now if Horgan and his close friends are also PERSONALLY making investment in KM at this time, then there is an issue to be looked into.

[Jflem1983]

Hang em high

[kelownman]

removed.

[The Green Barbarian]

It is too bad the liberal sycophants refuse to acknowledge the past 16 years of liberal lies, malfeasance, and corruption and hold the liberals to account for these misdeed. Instead they ignore such outrageous political interference! .

The issue here that you are seeming unwilling to grasp is that while the Liberals have their issues, the NDP are even worse. There is no point "holding them to account" if this means bringing in the NDP. This is like taking cyanide because you have a head-ache. We need a third option in this province, and that process starts by kicking the malfeasant NDP to the curb.

[Gone_Fishin]

The NDP just can't help themselves. Any chance at corruption and ill-gotten gains, and they're all in. The naivety of those who can't understand what's going on here shocks even a skeptic of left wing comprehension levels like me!

[Queen K]

Any portfolio manager worth their wages would buy on KM at this dip. Seems prudent. It's related and the political optics are bad certainly but no colluded crime that I can figure.

Now if Horgan and his close friends are also PERSONALLY making investment in KM at this time, then there is an issue to be looked into.

GF, did you read Veovis' post?

[Gone_Fishin]

'Crass hypocrisy'
Rob Gibson - May 9, 2018 / 7:17 am | Story: 225816



Photo: CTV


As Indigenous leaders from Canada attend Kinder Morgan's annual general meeting today, a new report has revealed that in spite of ongoing opposition, B.C.'s government pension funds are heavily invested in Kinder Morgan.

snip

"BCI has held Kinder Morgan since 2011 after it was first added to the MSCI World Index and Kinder Morgan Canada after it was added to the S&P/TSX Composite Index in December 2017."

Regardless of the strategies involved, the investment coupled with the current government's opposition to the pipeline is being described as hypocritical and bad optics.

"This is crass hypocrisy," the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's Kris Sims said Tuesday.

"Lo and behold, oil and gas are so fundamental to our economic prosperity that government pensions rely on them."

https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/225816/Crass-hypocrisy


Footnote: so what do our indigenous friends think about being used as pawns by Horgan to bolster his pension returns? Do the realize he's playing them for the fool while he profits off the actions he's put them up to?

[flamingfingers]

^^You are being purposefully misleading. Politicians do in no way, shape or form dictate investment policy or strategy to BCIMC.

https://www.bci.ca/who-we-are/