U.S. Pensions Face Demands to Exit Hard-to-Unwind Russia Assets

U.S. politicians from New York to California are calling for public pensions to shed hundreds of millions of dollars in investments tied to Russia. So far, the retirement funds aren’t moving quickly to divest. In many cases, they can’t.

The funds have relatively small exposure, but unwinding such assets is complex and could mean losses as they are trading at deep discounts and liquidity is scarce. Many of the largest retirement systems, which invest billions for teachers and other public servants, are adopting a patient approach.

“Considering that Russia amounts to about 2% of the global economy, whether a pension ...