Key Takeaways
- • NYC Comptroller Brad Lander unveiled an interactive transparency website on October 18, 2022 that lets pension beneficiaries and the public view asset allocation and performance for the city's five public pension funds.
- • The five funds, which together hold approximately $242 billion in assets under management as of August 31, 2022, serve more than 800,000 current and former city workers.
- • The asset allocation dashboard shows investments by manager, asset class, and asset type, with values dating back to 2018.
- • The asset performance dashboard presents fund and asset-class returns from FY 2022 back to FY 2018.
Summary
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander unveiled a new interactive website on October 18, 2022, designed to give pension beneficiaries and the general public visibility into how the city's pension assets are invested and how they have performed. According to the Comptroller's office, the five city public pension funds, the New York City Employees' Retirement System, Teachers' Retirement System, Police Pension Fund, Fire Department Pension Fund, and Board of Education Retirement System, hold approximately $242 billion in assets under management across all asset classes as of August 31, 2022.
The platform consists of two separate pages. The asset allocation landing page offers an interactive view of investments by manager, asset class, and asset type, with holdings valued as of August 31, 2022 and historical data dating back to 2018. A separate asset performance dashboard presents performance data by fund and asset class, covering FY 2022 and extending back to FY 2018.
Lander said in the release that city workers, retirees and members of the public should have access to information about where pension investments are made and how they are performing, framing transparency as a core part of guaranteeing that the funds remain available for public sector retirees. The Comptroller serves as custodian, fiduciary, and delegated investment adviser to the funds, which cover more than 800,000 current and former city workers.
The release also outlines the governance structure. Each fund is overseen by its own Board of Trustees, which includes representatives from the Mayor, the Comptroller, relevant unions, other elected officials, and, for the Board of Education Retirement System, members of the Panel for Education Policy. Trustees, working with the Bureau of Asset Management and the Board's consultants, make asset allocation decisions based on economic risk, return, performance, and beneficiary distributions, and all investment decisions are voted on by the relevant Trustees.
The platform consists of two separate pages. The asset allocation landing page offers an interactive view of investments by manager, asset class, and asset type, with holdings valued as of August 31, 2022 and historical data dating back to 2018. A separate asset performance dashboard presents performance data by fund and asset class, covering FY 2022 and extending back to FY 2018.
Lander said in the release that city workers, retirees and members of the public should have access to information about where pension investments are made and how they are performing, framing transparency as a core part of guaranteeing that the funds remain available for public sector retirees. The Comptroller serves as custodian, fiduciary, and delegated investment adviser to the funds, which cover more than 800,000 current and former city workers.
The release also outlines the governance structure. Each fund is overseen by its own Board of Trustees, which includes representatives from the Mayor, the Comptroller, relevant unions, other elected officials, and, for the Board of Education Retirement System, members of the Panel for Education Policy. Trustees, working with the Bureau of Asset Management and the Board's consultants, make asset allocation decisions based on economic risk, return, performance, and beneficiary distributions, and all investment decisions are voted on by the relevant Trustees.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.