Candidates for North Carolina State Treasurer
Dale Folwell
as an investment advisor for Deutsche Bank. Treasurer Folwell is responsible for the seven
retirement systems serving North Carolina’s public sector retirees. He also oversees the
North Carolina’s retirement systems are among the best-funded pension plans in the
country, and is one of the largest pension systems both in the United States and in the
entire world, where it ranks as the 26th largest. Before his time as Treasurer, Folwell spent
four terms in the NC House of Representatives.
Ronnie Chatterji
Ronnie Chatterji is a professor at Duke University for the Fuqua School of Business and
Sanford School of Public Policy. He previously served as an economic adviser during the
Obama administration. Chatterji serves on the NC First Commission, which is a bipartisan
group tasked to deal with long-term strategies involving transportation investments in
North Carolina. Receiving his undergraduate degree in economics from Cornell University
and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, Chatterji has received multiple
teaching awards and recognitions, including being named as a “Top 40 Under 40” business
school professor by Poets and Quants.
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Pension Protection
Pensions throughout the country are in crisis, even before
the pandemic and economic shutdown. What has your
administration done to protect the value of our pension
systems?
Dale Folwell: We have been loyal to those who teach,
protect, and otherwise serve. Moody’s just designated our
plan number one in the country in terms of our ability to
stay funded during an economic downturn, and we are
proud to have earned this distinction.
The pension value is determined by employee/
investments. In the last four years, we eliminated $350
million in investment fees. That is $350 million more that
goes to retirees and not to middlemen.
We have asked for and received the full annual
required contributions from the funders, the N.C. General
Assembly and local governments. Furthermore, we have
pursued or prosecuted any individual or group who either
earn.
systems of North Carolina have been completely transparent,
both with stakeholder groups like NCRGEA and with
anyone else. We believe in disclosure up front, instead of
discovery. After all, it’s your money.
Our policies have resulted in the pension plan increasing
in value by $18 billion dollars after paying out nearly
If elected treasurer, what will your administration do to
prepare and safeguard our state’s public assets in the event
another major crisis, such as another pandemic, should
occur?
Ronnie Chatterji: We need a new approach in the Department
of State Treasurer. It begins with an investment
strategy that is based on best practices and teamwork.
When elected, I will hire a permanent Chief Investment
departed to ensure that the Treasurer has the best possible
team to manage our pension fund. Second, I will initiate
a comprehensive review of our asset allocation and
estimate the negative impact of the Treasurer’s decision
to hold billions of dollars in cash. Third, I will task my staff
with incorporating environmental, social, and corporate
governance concerns into our investment strategy. These
steps will safeguard our assets for future crises and provide
our state with a solid foundation to prosper during
an economic recovery.
We must also shore up our healthcare system, by
crises over access to healthcare for our state employees
and retirees.
If COVID-19 does long-term damage to the economy and the
level of unfunded liabilities in the pension system increases,
would you be willing to consider reforms such as increased
employer/employee contribution rates, or even changing
Dale Folwell: I am committed to preserving and strengthening
the plan in the form it has maintained for decades,