A week ago, I wrote about CALPERS’ decision to basically get out of hedge funds. Yesterday, Gretchen Morgenson asked whether the love affair with hedge funds is over?

Here:

Are public pension funds over their crush on hedge funds?

Looking for better returns, public pension funds in recent years have been socking away money in those lightly regulated vehicles. Some pension overseers have criticized this trend, but they have been few in number and have often been drowned out by hedge fund proponents. Those overseers’ arguments, however, are sound: Hedge funds, with their high fees, secrecy and recent underperformance, are inappropriate investments for most funds charged with providing retirement and other benefits to former workers.

And:

Among the problems posed by hedge funds, pension experts say, are exorbitant fees and illiquidity. (Many hedge funds have one-year lockups, limiting investors’ ability to get out.) Moreover, they are about as transparent as mud.

“As a trustee, I was not allowed to see the hedge fund contracts,” said Chris Tobe, a former trustee for the Kentucky Retirement Systems, and one of those quiet hedge fund critics in the pension world. “The auditor wasn’t allowed to see the contracts, and the contract review committee for the Legislature was not allowed to look at them, either. Given the contracts are secret, how do you know they are not overcharging you on fees?”

The key will be to see what happens in the months ahead–will other funds do the same thing? I’ll keep an eye out for that.