Defending pension fund middlemen

May 13, 2009 | By Jim Kim

Is the angst about those shadowy middlemen that place pension money with specific funds tainting legitimate industry consultants? It seems that way to the Blackstone Group. Bloomberg notes that Blackstone's Park Hill unit "has raised $104.2 billion for 65 funds since its creation in 2005."

There are other legitimate firms that have avoided trafficking in kickbacks and shady practices. The idea of ban on such agents seems like a case if throwing out the baby with the bathwater. The hope, according to Bloomberg, is that the industry evolves new rules and regulations voluntarily, perhaps in concert with pensions and regulators, as opposed to an outright ban. Some also argue that when the dust settles, the shadowy firms will be eliminated, leaving only the legitimate ones. That is, unless the solution goes too far.

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