Obama vs. Oppenheimer

President Barak was preening on the camera yesterday about selfish investment fund houses not accepting the deal to keep Chrysler afloat.

Some of these funds published a response to the President's attack and noted they have a fiduciary responsibility to their clients such as pension funds, teachers, retirees, etc.

Oppenheimer Funds released its own statement:

OppenheimerFunds, Inc. shares the goals of all Chrysler stakeholders seeking to strengthen the automaker.

As a member of the Chrysler creditors’ steering committee, OppenheimerFunds represented the interests of the thousands of small investors and their retirement plans that make up the majority of our mutual funds shareholders.
y
At all times in the negotiations, OppenheimerFunds sought fair treatment for the shareholders of our funds and we were willing to make very significant sacrifices to reach an agreement. Along with more than 20 other secured creditors, OppenheimerFunds rejected the Government’s offers because they unfairly asked our fund shareholders to make financial sacrifices greater than those being made by unsecured creditors. Our holdings in secured Chrysler debt are entitled to priority in long-established US bankruptcy law and we are obligated to our fund shareholders to support agreements that respect these laws.

Who knows, maybe WEAC pension/health funds took a hit due to this deal? Then, I bet we'll see such investors whining about how Oppenheimer lost their monies and President Barak will preen about taking care of them, which in a sense is fair, after all if you break it you buy it, right?