New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, Public Advocate Williams, Rev. Al Sharpton, Pension Fund and Investment Leaders Celebrate “Emerging Managers Week” and Commit to Staying the Course on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Despite Federal Attacks and Misinformation

New York, NY – New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Reverend Al Sharpton, and investment leaders gathered today to celebrate the first coordinated, multi-state “Emerging Managers Week” dedicated to helping pension funds invest with emerging asset managers, many of whom are MWBE-owned, consistent with their fiduciary duty.

The inaugural week offers emerging and MWBE-owned asset management firms the opportunity to attend conferences and events with investment staff of 12 public pension funds, from 6 states, with over $1 trillion in assets under management (participating funds in Emerging Managers Week are listed below). The pension funds are seeking to engage with asset managers who can significantly contribute strong, risk-adjusted returns consistent with the fiduciary duty and investment objectives of pension funds.

“New York City’s pension funds are best positioned to deliver for every member and beneficiary when they have the opportunity to work with all high-performing investment managers. Expanding the pool of asset managers who are responsible for investing the assets of our pension funds is an essential part of our investing strategy and integral to delivering robust long-term returns for current and retired municipal employees. The repeated attacks from Donald Trump’s administration have sown unnecessary fear throughout the public and private sector. As fiduciaries, we focus on numbers, not rhetoric. We are standing tall, backed by data and common sense, and we encourage others to follow suit,” said New York City Comptroller Lander.

During the press conference today, Comptroller Lander, joined by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, Rev. Sharpton and Grace Reyes, CEO of The Investment Diversity Exchange (TIDE), announced their commitment to continue advancing and promoting DEI, despite attacks and misinformation stemming from the Trump Administration, including the recent memo directing the use of Department of Justice’s (DOJ) resources to criminally investigate companies’ DEIA initiatives.

Lander emphasized that investing with diverse managers has led to robust returns that deliver for members and beneficiaries of public pension funds. Diversity, equity and inclusion are crucial elements of a sound asset management strategy and bring measurable investment value. Investment teams that are diverse in race, gender and professional background offer a broad range of perspectives and lead to stronger decision making and risk management. Research has repeatedly shown that diverse investment teams that have tapped into a wider pool of qualified talent outperform their non-diverse peers.

For the New York City pension funds, MWBE-owned investment managers are among the best performers throughout their portfolios. In a recently released report, fiscal year 2024 data showed that for private markets MWBE firms in the New York City pension funds’ portfolio have outperformed their respective benchmarks with an average public markets equivalent (PME) spread of 5% for the past decade, contributing to the funds’ strong overall performance. Over the past two years, assets under management with MWBE managers have increased over 36%, from $17 billion to $23 billion. In FY24, the City’s five pension funds achieved a combined net return of 10.0%, saving over $1.8 billion for New York City taxpayers.

Other pension funds across the country, including the New York State Common Retirement Fund and the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds, have also seen strong returns while continuing their work to promote investing with diverse-owned asset managers.

The New York State Common Retirement Fund’s Emerging Manager Program is a leader in building relationships with new, diverse, and growing investment firms with approximately $10.9 billion invested with or committed to emerging managers and $36.8 billion invested with or committed to Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE), representing nearly 24% of its investments with outside managers. These investments helped spur the Fund’s 11.56% overall return on investments in its most recent fiscal year ending March 31, 2024.

Connecticut State Treasurer Erick Russell, who presented at the Emerging Managers Conference and Reception on Tuesday, said emerging and diverse asset management firms remain crucial to the long-term investment strategy for Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (CRPTF). Of the funds’ $60 billion in total assets under management, 27% ($16 billion) are managed by minority and women-owned enterprises, and the strong performance of MWBE managed assets has played a critical role in the state’s improved investment performance. In the last fiscal year, the CRPTF generated a net 11.5% return, exceeding the performance of most funds in its peer group.

“The time is now to triple down on inclusion—widening the aperture for talent strengthens teams and drives progress,” said Grace Reyes, President and CEO of The Investment Diversity Exchange.

“Emerging and diverse asset managers have contributed to the success of Connecticut’s pension funds in recent years, and they will play an even bigger role in our strategy going forward,” said Connecticut State Treasurer Russell. “In fact, we expanded the Connecticut Inclusive Investment Initiative (Ci3) in January to offer even more opportunities to firms that can help us reach our long-term investment goals. Each diverse and emerging manager brings their unique background and strategy to our portfolio, but all share one common goal: reliable, risk-   adjusted returns for Connecticut’s retired teachers and state workers.”

“New York’s strength will always be its diversity. As the global capital of finance, we have the advantage of attracting talent from every community and background. The New York Common Retirement Fund is a national leader in partnering with emerging investment managers and tapping into the next generation of top performing talent. We remain committed to pursuing the best from the widest, deepest and most diverse pool of candidates to maximize our investment returns,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“At a time when some government officials and businesses around the country have scaled back their commitment to racial equity, diversity, and inclusivity,” said Linda Tigani, Chair and Executive Director of the NYC Commission on Racial Equity (CORE). “CORE proudly retains its mandate to advance community-voiced equity priorities, including closing racial disparities in city contracting—whether in asset management or afterschool programs—and looks forward to working with the city to implement these priorities, as required by the NYC Charter, through its forthcoming Racial Equity Plan.”

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