THE Attorney General’s Office is trying to determine if Retirement Fund may also benefit from the $100-million settlement that New York-based investment consulting firm Merrill Lynch is offering its clients to settle charges that its analysts misled investors. (See Business & Trade section)
Attorney General Robert T. Torres said they were already making inquiries. Fund officials were not available for comment yesterday.
The Fund has over $350 million in assets managed by Merrill Lynch. Most of these were invested on the stock market, primarily in the U.S.
Merrill Lynch acts as the Fund’s investment consultant offering market analysis and strategies to protect the agency’s over $350 million portfolio.
Merrill Lynch monitors and supervises nine money managers in various investment areas for the Retirement Fund.
On Wednesday, Merrill Lynch agreed to pay $100 million to settle charges that its analysts misled investors with their stock ratings so the company could win lucrative investment banking fees, according to the Associated Press.
The firm said it will make the payment to the state of New York, which has been investigating the matter, and to other states provided they accept the proposed settlement.
