‘Not your government’s money’: AIMCo ‘reset’ raises concern over political influence

financialpost.com:

If there was any doubt Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party government wanted a firmer hand in the direction of the nearly $170-billion Alberta Investment Management Corp., that evaporated on Wednesday.

In a news release, somewhat buried by the appointment of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper as AIMCo’s new chair, the Alberta government announced that one seat on the 11-member board will be reserved for the deputy minister of treasury board and finance. It won’t be a paid position: the high-ranking bureaucrat will be there “to ensure more consistent communications between AIMCo and Alberta’s government,” the release said.

While the arrival of Harper and the new board seat have given the government the “reset” it sought following the purge of the Crown corporation’s entire board and chief executive earlier in the month, they are also raising questions about just how much sway the government will have over the investment manager, whose mandate spells out that day-to-day investment decisions are to be made “free from any influence or direction from the government of Alberta.”

“I’m worried about the increased number of political appointments on the board,” said Sebastien Betermier, an associate professor of Finance at McGill University and executive director of the International Centre for Pension Management. “This will potentially undermine the fund’s ability to operate at an arm’s length from government, which is a critical element of the Canadian model.”

In media interviews, Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner pledged to make only minor tweaks to AIMCo’s mandate and to avoid exerting political pressure. He also said Harper’s stature, having run the country for nine years, would make it difficult for anyone to