Four investment management firms that invest on behalf of New York City pension funds, including two from the public markets, received awards from New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer for commitment to diversity in board composition and practices.
State Street and Amalgamated Bank won Diverse Practitioner honors for their work in the public markets, while MetLife Investment Management and Standard General were cited for their work in the private markets, Stringer announced Tuesday.
"A commitment to diversity not only widens the circle of opportunity, it is important to long-term value creation," Stringer said in a statement. "We need to highlight this in the investment management industry and among portfolio managers to harness the value that diversity provides.
Starting last year, Stringer's asset management bureau has used diversity as a criterion in evaluating and selecting investment managers. His office worked with three of the city's five pension funds to create a formal survey through which investment managers would describe the composition of their investment professionals and boards.
Additionally, said Stringer, the pension funds directed the consultants who help identify investment managers to formally consider diversity in that selection process. The evaluation system created a framework that enables the comptroller's office to publicly recognize diverse managers that promote minorities and women to leadership roles.
According to asset management bureau data and based on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's 2013 national aggregate report, 83% of portfolio managers in the United States are white. Stringer cited several other studies, including a strategic consulting group study found that white men own 97% of hedge funds.
The city's five pension funds are valued at $163 billion as of May 31. They are the New York City Employees' Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement System of the City of New York, the New York City Police Pension Fund Subchapter 2, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund Subchapter Two, and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System.
