<p>The University of California could have earned up to $4.8 billion more on its investments for retirees during the past decade simply by outsourcing them to good advisers.</p>
<p>And when a UC regents' committee decided to do just that by firing the university's internal investment staff, it buried the announcement by timing it for Election Day on Nov. 5, 2002 -- hoping the media would have their hands full with other news.</p>