For Louisiana investors of Fletcher: Unhappy returns and, so far, no refunds

When three Louisiana public pension funds invested with a Fletcher Asset Management hedge fund four years ago, they thought they were getting an impressive combination of high returns and safety, The Wall Street Journal reports. “We felt we had made a very good investment and here we are working our butts off, trying to get our investments back,” says Richard Hampton, the executive director of the New Orleans Firefighters’ Pension and Relief Fund. The hedge fund has been in court-ordered liquidation since April, and a related Fletcher fund filed for bankruptcy protection on June 29. The Fletcher firm will appeal a Cayman Islands judge’s decision ordering the wind-up of the fund. The Fletcher firm’s 2008 offer to three Louisiana public pension funds—which also includes the Firefighters’ Retirement System of Louisiana and Municipal Employees Retirement System of Louisiana—was an unusual arrangement that offered a minimum annual 12% return backed by other investors. Those returns were not realized, and now the funds are trying to get refunded their investments—which exceed $100 million. Read the full story here.