Tag: Scott Stringer

NYPD unions to pull out of pension fund group, Comptroller Stringer urges them to reconsider

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-nypd-unions-pull-out-pension-fund-group-20210920-472g2q3jn5hr5hk2lhgtgitvia-story.html

Excerpt:

New York City police unions that hold partial control over how their members’ pension money is invested are planning to pull out of a consortium of other city pension funds that Comptroller Scott Stringer has credited with considerably augmenting their return on investment.

In 2015, Stringer launched what’s come to be known as the Common Investment Meeting, where the trustees of the city’s five largest union pension funds meet to hash out how their money is managed.

…..

According to Stringer, the CIM has boosted the pension funds’ growth overall, with their rate of return hitting 11.58% over the five years since the CIM was created, compared to a 7.02% rate of return for the five years prior to its creation.

The police pension funds’ trustees are made up of several police unions. The most powerful among them is the Police Benevolent Association.

The PBA’s head, Patrick Lynch, pointed out that the CIM began as a pilot program and disputed the idea that, over the past five years, it’s made life easier for the funds’ trustees.

Author(s): Michael Gartland

Publication Date: 19 Sept 2021

Publication Site: NY Daily News

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer Loosening City Pension Private Equity Rules Will Help Him, Hurt Pensioners

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsiedle/2021/02/24/new-york-city-comptroller-scott-stringer-loosening-city-pension-private-equity-rules-will-help-him-hurt-pensioners/?sh=6bdb3ceb2592

Excerpt:

What a remarkable coincidence that New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer is looking to loosen strict rules that govern private-equity firms managing the city’s pensions when the Democrat is running for mayor in this year’s election. Presumably, private equity firms who may earn hundreds of millions in fees if the pension restrictions are lifted will let him know just how grateful they are.

Author(s): Edward Siedle

Publication Date: 24 February 2021

Publication Site: Forbes

New York City Comptroller: Ax Rule Forcing Private Equity to Pay Legal Bills

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/new-york-city-comptroller-ax-rule-forcing-private-equity-pay-legal-bills/

Excerpt:

Scott Stringer is worried. New York City pension funds are having a tough time enlisting private equity (PE) firms due to a requirement that PE outfits pay for litigation expenses out of their own pockets instead of shunting the cost onto investors.  

So, as the city official overseeing the funds, City Comptroller Stringer is urging fund trustees to scrap this rule, which would help the buyout firms if they run into trouble with regulators or other litigants, as first reported by the New York Post. The idea is to get more PE players managing city pension money.

The New York City Public Pension Funds, the collective of the city’s five pension funds, implemented the private equity rule, called the “GP Expenses Provision,” roughly five years ago after Carlyle Group was swept up in a collusion case and had to pay a $115 million settlement, the Post reported.

Author(s): Sarah Min

Publication Date: 26 February 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

New York City pension funds to divest $4 billion of fossil fuels

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://fixedincome.fidelity.com/ftgw/fi/FINewsArticle?id=202101260811SM______BNDBUYER_00000177-3abd-de06-a5f7-7aff55560002_110.1

Excerpt:

Dovetailing on President Biden’s clean-energy initiatives shortly after taking office, two of New York City’s five pension funds voted to divest their portfolios of an estimated $4 billion from securities related to fossil fuel companies.

The New York City Employees’ Retirement System and New York City Teachers’ Retirement System voted to approve divestments on Monday and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System is expected to proceed on a divestment vote imminently, Mayor Bill de Blasio and city Comptroller Scott Stringer said in a joint statement.

NYCERS and Teachers were valued at $91.4 billion and $77.4 billion as of November, according to data from Stringer’s office. Overall, the five systems have roughly $240 billion in assets under management, constituting the fourth largest public pension plan in the U.S.

Author: Paul Burton

Publication Date: 26 January 2021

Publication Site: Fidelity Fixed Income

Two NYC Pension Funds Divesting $4 Billion from Oil Companies

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/two-nyc-pension-funds-divesting-4-billion-oil-companies/

Excerpt:

Oil companies are quickly losing investors, including two pension funds in New York City, as more asset managers are pivoting to renewable options in the battle against climate change and for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. 

The two pension funds will divest an estimated $4 billion from fossil fuel companies. NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer on Twitter called the move “one of the largest divestments in the world.”

The move to sell holdings in oil companies mirrors the divestment from tobacco companies two decades ago. 

The $77.4 billion New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) and the $91.4 New York City Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) approved the divestments in a vote on Monday. They represent the largest pension funds within the $239.8 billion New York City Retirement Systems.

Author: Ellen Chang

Publication Date: 26 January 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO