Another example of a screw-up PAP government.
Mindef investing money from its budget is a first in the world. Who is the beneficiary of the investment?
Why is the money released to Mindef in the first place? The Finance Minister should be answering that question in Parliament if the Opposition knows how to perform its role of holding the government accountable
Ok, some clarification here. The SAVER-Premium fund is a pension plan for SAF regulars. This is separate from their CPF and what not. Why they need their own pension plan, don't ask me. i have always been confused with it, but its a separate contribution for the regulars. Anyway, the SAVER plan is set up like a little CPF agency within the SAF. The board of directors consists of the Chiefs of all the various armed services as well as other people like auditors and accountants. They prepare a financial statement every year. So, the BOD manages these funds, as you can see, not an unsubstantial fund size. And $25 to $50 million very year into REIT ETFs alone. Not to count the other money in fixed deposits and even real estate.
What the AGO is saying is that MINDEF appointed not one but 2 fund managers to manage their funds among other things without the BOD's approval. Because the fees and salaries of the fund managers have to be paid out of the SAVER funds, the BOD has to approve the appointments. And i don't know why 2 were appointed and not just one. These fund managers invested the $25 million and $50 million in US REITS without explaining to the board what is their fees, why choose those investments, etc.
So, it sounds like someone at MINDEF had some friends or relatives in the fund management business, and simply appointed them over the head of the SAVER Fund to run part of their funds for them. This is really a no no and seriously breaches the fiduciary duty of the BOD. But I am going to go out on a limb and say that no one will be court martialed.