Senator Marco Rubio plans legislation to block U.S. government pensions from investing in Chinese stocks after the board overseeing the funds put off a decision that would add exposure to China.
The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board on Monday addressed concerns that switching the benchmark for its $50 billion TSP I Fund to mirror an index with Chinese assets would undermine U.S. economic and national security. A decision was delayed for at least two weeks, according to Kim Weaver, the board’s spokeswoman.
Rubio, a Republican from Florida, called the board’s move not to reverse its plan “unacceptable’’ in a statement Monday and said he would introduce bipartisan legislation “to ensure that federal retirement savings can never be a source of wealth funding the Chinese Communist Party at the expense of our nation’s future prosperity.’’
At a meeting in Washington, FRTIB’s outside consultant, Aon Hewitt, reiterated its recommendation for the fund to resemble the MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Investable Market Index, said Weaver. China is the third-largest country weight in that index, representing about 7.5%.
The 2017 decision by the TSP board to increase U.S. government workers’ pension fund exposure to Chinese stocks -- and the debate over potentially sticking to that decision -- has come under fire from some in the Trump administration and a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
A spokesman for Rubio said the bill, which does not yet have co-sponsors, would preclude the savings plan from investing in products or stocks in countries where the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is restricted from accessing financial accounting information.
The Chinese government has long refused to allow the PCAOB to examine audits of firms whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and other U.S. platforms. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Baidu Inc. are among Chinese companies that have raised billions of dollars in the U.S. while avoiding PCAOB scrutiny, something the two countries have fought over for more than a decade.
Trump administration officials have been meeting to discuss the matter for several months. While limiting investment in China is being pushed by hawks inside the administration, even those who are perceived as less hardline have come around to the idea, people familiar with the internal deliberations said.
Read more: White House Focuses on China Stock Limits in Retirement Fund
According to Weaver, the board will meet again on Nov. 13 to discuss the information presented by the outside consultant, but cautioned that it’s not certain it will reach a decision at that meeting.