Oregon Rewards CMBS Manager Who Blew Up Fund in 2008: Mortgages

Edward Shugrue lost $100 million of Oregon’s state pension fund during the credit crisis in 2008, within three years of getting the money to invest in commercial property debt. The retirement board took just 30 minutes last month to hand him another $125 million.

For Oregon’s $57.9 billion retirement system, it’s a chance to profit from the real-estate recovery with a manager who’s overseen funds for the state since 2004 during the boom and bust. The pension trustees are sticking with Shugrue, the 46-year-old head of Talmage LLC, partly because a separate account he invests on their behalf has returned enough to recoup the loss, and also for his efforts in the depths of the crisis, ultimately unsuccessful, to salvage their holdings.