FL Pension Growth Investments Create 176 Jobs

December 20, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A report says that while Florida has invested $73 million in pension fund dollars in Florida-based technology companies that have created 176 jobs, it’s too early to know how successful the job-creation program will be.

The report by the Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability was designed to update lawmakers on their June 2009 legislation to invest $250 million in pension fund assets in Florida-based technology and growth firms. Philadelphia-based money manager Hamilton Lane was tapped to run the effort, according to the report.

Despite the early positions taken in seven Florida-based technology companies and four private equity funds that invest in such firms, it’s too early to judge the program’s long-term effectiveness, the report asserted.

Three of the companies have created new jobs so far: 86 by a Longwood-based waste management company, 83 by a digital media firm in the Tampa Bay area, and seven by a Winter Park medical device maker.

The report is at http://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/MonitorDocs/Reports/pdf/1060rpt.pdf.

«