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Craptocurrency: State Investment Officer Keeps SDRS Out of Funny Money

South Dakota investment officer Matt Clark is a pretty smart guy. He managed to keep the South Dakota Retirement System losses in Fiscal Year 2022 to 3.4% during a period when the Dow Jones shed over 10% of its value.

Matt Clark is also keeping our retirement funds out of cryptocurrency, because crypto is crap:

State Senator Jim Bolin, a Canton Republican and retired school teacher, asked Clark whether SDRS had invested in cryptocurrency. Replied Clark, “We do not believe that there’s a legitimate institutional investor case for cryptocurrency.”

Clark said his cynicism overpowered whatever else he maybe felt about the somewhat recent format. “It seems like a scam to me,” he said. “It’s good for bribes, it’s good for cyber-frauds.” He added, “It reminds me of the chain-letter things when I was a kid in the 70s” [Bob Mercer, “Fair News: SDRS Audits for Past Year Were ‘Clean’,” KELO-TV, 2022.12.01].

Over FY2022, market capitalization for cryptocurrency shrank 38%. Bitcoin’s value dropped 43%. Putting your retirement savings in a mayonnaise jar will produce better returns than buying technoklepts’ fake money.

21 Comments

  1. John Tsitrian 2022-12-02 06:56

    As of yesterday’s close of 34395, the DJIA is down 5.47% from its 36388 close on 12/31/21. Given the roughly 2% cumulative dividend yield of the Dow 30 stocks, investors in the DJIA are down about 3.47%, again, per yesterday’s close.

  2. grudznick 2022-12-02 07:30

    Bitcoin is bunk. It’s funny money. But if you walk into your favorite breakfasting joint and toss a few grudzcoins on the counter you’ll be swimming in gravy all day.

  3. Donald Pay 2022-12-02 08:31

    Grudz and I agree! It is also bad of the environment.

  4. Richard Schriever 2022-12-02 10:09

    The performance of my investments in the US stock market in general over the last 5 years has been a net 2.38%. Adjusted for inflation, that’s a net loss of around 1.61%. Those are the annual averages over 5 years. I am going to just leave what I have there, there – for no really good reason, aside from curiosity at this point. Meanwhile, the balance of my investment is going into foreign banking – where there is a much better annual return – or at least it out-paces US inflation.

  5. Donald Pay 2022-12-02 11:02

    I bought into Consumer staples ETFs last winter. It’s a conservative investment. Up 10 percent. I don’t buy into oil, mining sectors or stocks, which did really well, but are completely and totally corrupted and corrupting, as well as very prone to boom/bust.

  6. Jake 2022-12-02 11:29

    I too, Donald Pay, agree for once with ‘ole grudz’. Sorta of amazing to say, but true for sure. If it’s a good way to ‘launder’ money, it’s bad for society’s interests, right?

  7. Jake 2022-12-02 11:34

    As a recipient of a SD Retirement account, I sure do appreciate Matt Clark’s great work with the retirement $$$ he invested over the years! At least not all in Pierre government are affected by Noem’s ineptitude or greed.

  8. Arlo Blundt 2022-12-02 15:37

    The SoDak Investment Council has done great work in a volitile market for the past 50 years…a real success story.

  9. Mark Anderson 2022-12-02 16:24

    Jake or Arlo, who set up the SDRC anyway?

  10. Jake 2022-12-02 17:25

    Mark, it was our last progressive populist governor that did so dang much for the ‘average’ South Dakotan of the pesky party of Democrats who put in place programs like this for the average Joe Glow, like FDR did with Social Security, the CCC’s etc., etc. Kneip and a Democratic legislature did it, my friend. Since him, the SD GOP has been rapidly getting to the “bottom of the cesspool” of leadership in our state, hoodwinking the state’s population for 5 decades.!!!
    Now our federal Senator Thune starts his next 6 years saying that the GOP has to look to cut Social Security on his watch, “Can’t afford it” – “too much red-ink on the books” (since the GOP’s 2 wars they put on the credit card of our kids to pay off.! Wait ’til those kids have to “kick-in” to Grandpa/Grandma, Pop/Mom’s kitty with their own hard taxed dollars that they are paying for the GOP’s tax-cuts on the rich and corporations.

  11. grudznick 2022-12-02 17:44

    Ms. Barbara’s dad must have been Bernard Christenson, special agent, Division of Criminal Investigation. Who knew?

  12. Barbara 2022-12-02 18:23

    Grudz, interesting hypothesis but BC came later, I think the SD Community Foundation in the 80’s. My dad was in that Democratic legislature Jake references that started the SD Retirement System.

  13. Rodney Hall 2022-12-02 20:13

    The law creating the study of the various retirement systems required that the Chrm of the LRC or his designee from that body serve on that study committee. Other members were selected. Sen Harvey Wollman was the Chrm of the LRC and he designated Barbara’s father a member of the Executive Board of the LRC to serve in his place. Barbara’s father was and still is Former Senator Rodney Hall. Grud guess again!

  14. Arlo Blundt 2022-12-02 20:55

    Barb–no, Bernie was around back in the 70’s…always respected and appreciated by other State Employees. His wife was a teacher at Lincoln Elementary and was an excellent educator. He was tough as nails in his DCI job but a great guy to know if you trod the straight and narrow. Kneip put the best people he could find on that committee regardless of political affiliation. Homer Harding in those days was as conservative as it gets, but as the local Ford dealer understood who his customers were. Kneip’s reorganization of State Government was a legendary resetting. Before reorganization, Pierre was an extraordinary as a sleepy place.

  15. Barbara 2022-12-02 21:21

    Thanks, Arlo. I should have read my own link more closely.
    This year’s losses are certainly limited given the market averages. I’d hate to think what cryptocurrency speculation would have resulted in. We’ve got a Conservative Opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, up here in the Great North who has to walk back his promotion of crypto.

  16. grudznick 2022-12-02 22:03

    Mr. Blundt and grudznick know more than most. And we are not insaner.

  17. Arlo Blundt 2022-12-04 15:42

    Speak for yourself Grudznick…I’ve always been a little nuts.

  18. grudznick 2022-12-04 16:29

    You said it, Mr. Blundt. I’m sure most here find my nuts to be bigger than most.

  19. ABC 2022-12-04 18:12

    Anti visionary Republicans called Franklin Roosevelt a Bolshevik for creating Social Security in the US. His Four Freedoms idea from 1944 has never been realized.

    Joe Biden is called every day a communist or commie by Republicans and Fox News.

    The Democratic Party in South Dakota has left the building 100% since the 1970s.

    Short of Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal Canada annexing North and South Dakota, we are stuck in a country that routinely calls half the voters Commies.

    In out state, Governors, Legislatures, Judiciary and political parties have failed us.

    What’s left?

    We the people.

    Our elected and appointed people have decided the will people can be overturned (recreational marijuana ) and its no bid deal.

    Whatever we need to do to make our lives better, we the people have to do it. The Democratic Party won’t.

    Are our principled Republicans saying Hey this social security crap is commie propaganda and will bankrupt our country? And are they refusing to take social security every month? Of course not.

    Politics unfortunately has become name calling since Nixon’s era and even before.

    This is the sad truth. Innovate and prosper all. Out political system here won’t do that.
    L.

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