On the market

The state treasurer doesn't play the stock market, so to speak.

Yesterday, we posted a spreadsheet of the 2006 investments of the state's pension funds made by Treasurer Richard Moore and invited comments.

To be clear, Moore doesn't actually pick the stocks. He chooses portfolios run by outside firms to invest in. At any time, their managers can buy or sell stocks in those portfolios.

That means the state has major holdings in Microsoft and Exxon Mobil, for example, even though Moore never directly picked those companies.

There are two exceptions. In recent years, Moore has asked the fund managers to sell off the state's shares in companies that engage in payday lending and those profiting from the conflict in Sudan.

More discussion after the jump.

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Because Moore doesn't directly control the stocks, there is some lag time between his request and the final sale. A representative from his office said that is why two payday lenders showed up on the 2006 holdings.

Also, there is no good list of the companies making money off the Sudanese genocide. The California Public Employees Retirement System named some major offenders, but Moore's office has pressed the federal government to develop a more complete list.

In comments, Anglico noted the state's holdings in health care companies, while Greensboro reporter Mark Binker said on his blog he's curious about subprime mortgage lenders. Other readers were upset about holdings in Dell and Google because of controversial incentives given to those companies.

The treasurer's office could ask its investment managers not to buy stock in those or any other companies, but its major goal is to make money for the retired state and city workers, firefighters and teachers in the pension funds.

Still, the list is interesting because North Carolina's taxpayers actually own those stocks. In the case of Exxon Mobil, Moore used that influence to oppose a lavish executive compensation package.