In a victory for transparency, Brisbane ABC reporter Tim Swanston has finally got hold of PwC’s scathing review of Brisbane City Council’s City of Brisbane Investment Corporation, its so-called future fund. I recall discussing the rumoured existence of a damning review of the CBIC with Tim when he covered my views on CBIC in March last year (see this ABC News report). Fourteen months later and BCC has finally had to hand the PwC review over to the ABC.

In his just published article Brisbane City Council investment arm a ‘substantial risk’ to ratepayer money, report says, Tim reports:

The Brisbane City Council’s investment arm is facing calls to be shut down, with Right to Information documents revealing “fundamental and systemic issues” with the fund and a “substantial risk” to ratepayer money…

…The document, by financial services firm PwC, warns the fund’s board has limited property expertise and there is a risk ratepayer money might be lost.

Great work getting hold of that report, Tim. It’s time for BCC to shutdown CBIC. For more of my views on the CBIC, see my post from last year:

CBIC’s peculiar investment philosophy

In that post, I noted that a comparison of CBIC to the Australian Government Future Fund is inaccurate, as the CBIC is heavily invested in property and nowhere near as diversified as the Future Fund (see charts below, which I need to update with the latest data, although the story won’t have changed).