Bureau of Asset Management
Advisor to New York City Pension Funds

FAQs

What are the New York City Pension Funds?  

A number of Pension Funds provide benefits for New York City employees, retirees and beneficiaries.  The City's primary employee Pension Funds are the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS), the Teachers' Retirement System for the City of New York (TRS), the New York City Police Pension Fund Subchapter 2 (POLICE ),  New York City Fire Department Pension Fund Subchapter 2 (FIRE) and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS).  Each Pension Fund is financially independent of the others, and has its own board of trustees.

Each Fund provides its members the benefits to which they are legally entitled. The funds necessary to finance these benefits are accumulated through contributions from members, participating employers and  investment earnings of the Funds.

What are Investment Advisors?

Each of the Funds employ Investment Advisors to help manage the pension funds and implement investment policies.

Who are the Trustees of the Retirement Boards?

Each of the five NYC Pension Funds has its own Board of Trustees  comprised of elected and appointed officials and union representatives.

What types of  investments are made by the Pension Funds?

In accordance with the Boards of  Trustees' asset allocations, the Pension Funds invest in a variety of  asset classes, including US equity, US fixed income and international equity.

What are Corporate Governance Issues?

The New York City Pension Funds take the responsibility of stock ownership seriously. They believe that advocacy and activism for shareholder rights, corporate governance reforms, and corporate responsibility is consistent with their fiduciary obligations.  They understand the interconnectedness and interdependencies of markets and societies within the global economy. Accordingly, they expect companies in which they invest to strive continually to be good citizens in the communities where they do business.

How does Proxy voting take place?

The Comptroller's Office is responsible for voting all proxies as directed by the Trustees.  In 1999, with technological improvements in the proxy voting process, the Comptroller's Office voted and registered the Funds' proxies electronically on over six thousand management and shareholder proposals.

What is Risk Oversight?

The Comptroller's Office has put in place for the City's Pension Funds a monitoring system, which provides it with daily information about investment managers' compliance with investment guidelines. The system utilizes state-of-the-art technology to monitor large and complex investment portfolios. Together with investment measurement and reporting procedures, the new risk reporting system is used by the Comptroller's Office and plan trustees to make more informed, effective and timely decisions on investment decisions.

How are Asset Allocations determined?

Each of the five Funds' Boards of Trustees, as fiduciaries, have the responsibility to determine an appropriate asset allocation. This decision is based upon many factors including: economic risk, return, performance, and beneficiary distributions.  Trustees, consultants and the Comptroller's Office conduct a careful analysis in making this determination.  

How are Investments made?

Funds are allocated to Advisors who implement the investment directives of the Boards of Trustees of each of the five Pension Funds.

What are Economically Targeted Investments?

New York City Pension Funds have successfully and prudently been invested in many Economically Targeted Investments (ETIs).  These investments, in addition to financing the renovation on new construction of affordable housing, help create childcare facilities, senior citizen centers and thousands of construction jobs.

How are City Treasury Funds Managed for the City of New York?

In addition to Pension Funds, the Comptroller invests City government cash in excess of compensatory balance requirements and not immediately needed to cover expenses - pursuant to instructions from the NYC Department of Finance- in short-term securities, including U.S. Treasury and Agency securities and high grade commercial paper. 

Nothing contained on any of these pages shall be construed as investment advice, guidance or recommendations.