Candidate for Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord's Track Record Managing Commonwealth's Money Called Into Question

Freedom of Information Act filing shows that McCord's firm lost 25% on state investments, while earning windfall $18 million for poor financial performance

BRISTOL, Pa., April 11 /PRNewswire/ -- "Where's the money, Rob?" That's the question on Pennsylvania taxpayers' minds, and it's a question that Democratic Candidate for Pennsylvania Treasurer John Cordisco is asking of his opponent Rob McCord.

"Rob McCord wants to be Pennsylvania's next Treasurer. First, he should tell us how he lost millions of our teachers' and state employees' retirement dollars as a principal of Pennsylvania Early Stage (now Novitas Capital), a venture capital firm that he controlled," says Cordisco.

A Freedom of Information Act filing with the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) indicates that McCord's track record managing state money includes:

-- In 1998, PA Early Stage I, a fund McCord managed, received $29 Million
from PSERS, and over a 10 year period, the fund generated a return of
less than 1% per year -- a rate that could have been exceeded by
investing in a simple savings account at a community bank.

-- McCord's PA Early Stage II received an additional $70 million
investment from PSERS in 2001. As of September 30, 2007 this
investment lost 26% of its value, or over $18 million.

-- At the same time, McCord did very well himself. PA Early Stage received
$18 million in fees from PSERS for this poor financial performance.
The Freedom of Information Act response from PSERS is available at
http://www.cordiscofortreasurer.com/.

-- Similarly, public disclosure from a second state pension fund, the
State Employees' Retirement System (SERS) shows that McCord's former
firm received $4.2 million of state employees' retirement dollars, and
has not returned one penny of that capital to the Commonwealth. This
information is available at http://www.sers.state.pa.us/ in the
investments section.

Cordisco continues, "The Pennsylvania State Treasurer sits on the board of both SERS and PSERS, which collectively manage over $100 billion for our state employees' and teachers' retirement funds. As such, the Treasurer has direct responsibility for safeguarding these assets. Rob McCord has already demonstrated a remarkable ability to lose taxpayer dollars. He should be called to accountability so we can understand how he lost our Commonwealth's hard earned money.

"I am calling for a full accounting of where every dollar PA Early Stage received from Pennsylvania is today. If McCord truly wants to serve as Treasurer, he should embrace this full accountability and transparency and tell us today: Where is the money, Rob?

"I am similarly concerned with lack of transparency for all of the Commonwealth's retirement investments in venture capital and private equity funds. As Treasurer I will usher in a new era of transparency so taxpayers can understand the risks and returns that the teachers and state employees' pension funds are facing."

Cordisco concluded, "In addition, McCord's campaign has been financed to the tune of over $2 million by contributions and loans from the private equity and venture capital community. He has stated publicly that he would 'recuse himself from any decisions involving managers who have given him money or worked closely with him in the past.' This statement alone indicates McCord's inability to execute the duties of the Treasurer, as one of the key responsibilities is to protect the $100 billion of retirement assets for our state employees and public school teachers."

John Cordisco for Treasurer

John Cordisco is a shareholder in the law firm of Stark & Stark, P.C., based in Yardley, PA. From 1981-1986, Cordisco served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Since 2002 Cordisco has served as Chairman of the Bucks County Democratic Committee.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: John Cordisco for Treasurer

CONTACT: Tom Pazzi of Cordisco for Treasurer, +1-215-788-2008,
tom@cordiscofortreasurer.com

Web site: http://www.cordiscofortreasurer.com/

2008-04-11 17:58:22 0334168 PRNEWSWIRE