New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today said that, as a result of the nation’s sputtering fiscal climate, the value of the five New York City Pension Funds dropped by14 percent over the last quarter ending December 31, 2008.

The funds had declined from $95.962 billion on September 30, 2008 to $82.516 billion on December 31, 2008.

“At the start of my tenure as Comptroller, I worked with trustees of the Pension Funds to markedly diversify the Funds, steps that have shielded us from suffering the crippling losses faced by so many other funds amid a down market,” Thompson said. “The choices trustees have made are positioning the Pension Funds to better weather this downturn and revive over a long-term horizon.”

Trustees of the New York City Pension Funds include Mayor Bloomberg, his commissioners, and representatives and appointees from labor unions. The funds are the: New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, and Board of Education Retirement System.

The Comptroller serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of four of the five Funds and is investment advisor to, and custodian of, the five. As investment advisor, he has the fiduciary responsibility of investing and protecting the Funds for more than 237,000 retirees and beneficiaries and more than 344,000 City and City-affiliated employees.
The Comptroller said the Pension Funds’ assets are invested for the benefit of the plan participants and their beneficiaries. All assets of the Pension Funds are managed by registered investment advisors.

Trustees (chairs in bold) of each fund are as follows:

New York City Employees’ Retirement System: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark (Chair); New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; Borough Presidents Scott Stringer (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, Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

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 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; Edward D. Mullins, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Thomas Sullivan, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; and, Roy T. Richter, Captains Endowment Association.

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; John Dunne, Captains’ Rep.; John J. McDonnell , Chiefs’ Rep., and James J. McGowan, Lieutenants’ Rep., Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and, Joseph Gagliardi, Marine Engineers Association.

Board of Education Retirement System: mayoral appointees Schools Chancellor Joel Klein (Designee, Kathleen Grimm, serves as co-chair), Alan Aviles, Philip Berry, David Chang, Tino Hernandez, Edison O. Jackson, Richard Menschel and Marita Regan; Patrick Sullivan (Manhattan), Wendy Gilgeous (Brooklyn), and Joan Correale (Staten Island); and employee members Joseph D'Amico of the IUOE Local 891 and Milagros Rodriguez of District Council 37, Local 372, who serves as co-chair.

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