Missouri’s 48th State Treasurer, Vivek Malek visited KCHI on Thursday to discuss legislative efforts aimed at requiring Missouri’s public pension systems to divest from certain foreign adversaries, including China. Malek has outlined both the economic and national security concerns tied to such investments. As well as the rational behind the decision by the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) in December 2023 to divest from Chinese entities.
Proposal of pensions divesting from China
In 2023, MOSERS became one of the first public pension systems in the nation to divest from Chinese-based companies. Treasurer Malek continues to advocate for statewide adoption of similar policies to protect public employees’ retirement funds and align Missouri with growing national concern over investment ties to foreign adversaries.