Hedge fund managers and other alternative investment managers frequently target state pension funds for investment, with the understanding that, in exchange for the fees paid by those pension funds, the hedge funds or alternative investments will deliver superior returns.  However, in its study of state pension funds with fiscal years ending June 30, 2014, the Maryland Public Policy Institute challenges that assumption.  This article summarizes the results of the study.  For more about pension plan investments, see “Pension Plan Gatekeepers Increasingly Serving as Competitors to Alternative Investment Managers,” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 7, No. 23 (Jun. 13, 2014); and “Understanding U.S. Public Pension Plan Delegation of Investment Decision-Making to Internal and External Investment Managers (Part Three of Three),” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 7, No. 7 (Feb. 21, 2014).