NYC Comptroller Responds to House Speaker McCarthy’s Attacks on Retirement Security

New York, NY – New York City Comptroller Brad Lander responded to U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s statements at a “bill signing” for legislation to block investment managers from considering environmental, social, and governance factors in investments. The New York City Comptroller is custodian, investment advisor, and trustee to five pension funds which together make up the U.S.’s fourth largest pension system with approximately $240 billion in assets under management on behalf of nearly 800,000 current and retired public sector workers.

“Speaker McCarthy and his colleagues are peddling misinformation in a disingenuous attempt to preserve short term profits of their fossil fuel donors at the expense of the retirement security of today and tomorrow’s workers.

“Considering environmental, social, and governance factors that pose risks to companies and sectors is the responsibility of fiduciaries seeking to maximize long-term risk adjusted returns. A pension is a promise. Whether that is looking at how a company treats its workers, which the New York City Retirement Systems have filed shareholder resolutions on at Starbucks, Walmart and other companies, or at whether they have good guardrails on governance issues like insider trading, investors should be paying attention to ESG risk factors to deliver on that promise.

“As Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has no responsibility for ensuring returns for retirees, is moving forward with this dangerous legislation at the expense of future and current retirees and the fiduciaries who prioritize the long-term value of their retirement plans, I am hopeful that President Biden will veto this legislation and continue to allow fiduciaries to make the decisions necessary to preserve long-term value for those they serve.”

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