State Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris/Passaic) will issue an OPRA request to the state Treasurer and the State’s Higher Education Student Authority for details of the bidding process for the management and operation of NJBest program. The program manages 529 students’ college funds.
Morning Star recently rated NJBest as one of the nation’s worst programs for managing students’ college funds citing 500% higher management fee’s than top programs such as those in Ohio, as well as risky investment choices.
“There is no reason that students and parents should have to be subject to these high fees for poor performance and risky and rigid investments,” said the Senator.
Pennacchio questions whether higher fees were not being used to cover sales commissions to lure outside investors into New Jersey’s fund. “That would be totally unacceptable,” said Senator Pennacchio.
“Peter Langerman was a top executive at Franklin Templeton before becoming head of the state Division of Investment in 2002. Franklin Templeton won the contract to run NJBest in 2003 when Jim McGreevey was governor. Langerman returned to Franklin Templeton in 2005 and he now manages some of the funds used by NJBest. Like the failed Lehman Brother investment I am concerned about possible conflicts of interest,” concluded Pennacchio.
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April 24, 2009
