View Women and Minority Owned Brokerage RFEI

Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today announced the launch of a new initiative to recruit minority- and women-owned brokerage firms to provide brokerage and related services to the City’s Pension Systems’ external investment managers.

The Comptroller’s Office has released a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) seeking qualified firms to provide the Pension Systems with the best trading execution. The RFEI is seeking minority- and women-owned firms that have brokerage expertise in all asset classes.

“This program opens doors and removes barriers to qualified firms that haven’t always had the chance to work with the Pension Systems,” Thompson said. “We want to create opportunities for as many qualified brokers to work with us as possible.”

“Diversity isn't just good social policy - it's an important way to ensure that our pensions earn the best possible returns,” said New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark. “The Minority- and Women-Owned Brokerage Program will diversify our broker team just as we have diversified our asset allocation. Both trends will improve the bottom line.”

The release of the RFI is another step in Comptroller Thompson’s commitment to diversifying and broadening the pool of firms participating in managing City business in the asset management arena. It follows Thompson’s announced dedication of $2 billion over the next two years toward an Emerging and Developing Investment Mangers program. The Comptroller recently released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to identify Emerging Managers-of-Managers to invest $800 million in publicly traded securities, and plans to release an RFP next year to directly target Developing Investment Managers.

The RFEI for Women-and-Minority-Owned Brokers is due by September 6, 2005.

The five New York City Pension Funds are the: New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS); New York City Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS); New York City Fire Department Pension Fund; New York City Police Pension Fund; and, the New York City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS).

The trustees for the five Pension Funds are:

New York City Fire Department Pension Fund: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark; Stephen Cassidy, President, James Slevin, Vice President, Robert Straub, Treasurer, and John Kelly, Brooklyn Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Peter Gorman, President and Captains’ Rep., Nicholas J. Visconti, Chiefs’ Rep., and Stephen J. Carbone, Lieutenants’ Rep., Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and, Joseph Gagliardi, Marine Engineers Association.

New York City Police Pension Fund: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark; New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly (Chair); Patrick Lynch, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association; Michael Palladino, Detectives Endowment Association; Edwin Mullins, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Anthony Garvey, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; and, John Driscoll, Captains Endowment Association.

New York City Employees’ Retirement System: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark (Chair); New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; Borough Presidents C. Virginia Fields (Manhattan), Helen Marshall (Queens), Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn), Adolfo Carrion (Bronx), and James Molinaro (Staten Island); Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Roger Toussaint, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; and, Carroll (Carl) Haynes, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

New York City Teachers’ Retirement System: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark (Chair); Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, New York City Department of Education; and, Sandra March, Melvyn Aaronson and Mona Romain, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

New York City Board of Education Retirement System: Mayoral appointees Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Alan Aviles, Phillip Berry, David Chang, Tino Hernandez, Augusta Souza Kappner, Richard Menschel and Marita Regan; Borough President appointees Jesse Mojica (Bronx), Martine G. Guerrier (Brooklyn), Michael Flowers (Queens), and Joan Correale (Staten Island); and employee members Thomas J. Malanga of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 891 , and  Milagros Rodriguez of District Council 37, Local 372.

###