All about risk
Excerpt:
What a remarkable coincidence that New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer is looking to loosen strict rules that govern private-equity firms managing the city’s pensions when the Democrat is running for mayor in this year’s election. Presumably, private equity firms who may earn hundreds of millions in fees if the pension restrictions are lifted will let him know just how grateful they are.
Author(s): Edward Siedle
Publication Date: 24 February 2021
Publication Site: Forbes
Excerpt:
That very day, January 2, Craver worked from 3 in the afternoon until 11:30 at night to create Covid19 Vaccine TX, a site listing possible vaccination locations across the state. As a digital product designer, she knew that a site like this would have to be easy to read, intuitive to navigate, and quick to update. The idea was that people could upload information about vaccination sites, with each entry answering three questions: Was the vaccine available that day? Was the location taking appointments? Was there a wait list?
Craver loaded the project on the cloud-based spreadsheet service Airtable, posted a link on Reddit, and went to bed. When she woke up the next morning at 7 a.m., one entry was filled out. “At least somebody cares,” she remembers thinking. She spent the rest of the day manually inserting information for about 1,400 locations in the state. “I’ve been going nonstop since,” she says, estimating that she puts in about 40 hours of her free time every week to maintain the site. It has received 50,000 total visitors since launch.
Author(s): Tanya Basu
Publication Date: 1 February 2021
Publication Site: MIT Technology Review
Link: https://fixedincome.fidelity.com/ftgw/fi/FINewsArticle?id=202101220939SM______BNDBUYER_00000177-208e-d29a-ab7f-b8fea05d0001_110.1
Excerpt:
In sidestepping for now a planned subway and bus fare increase ? a public-relations third rail ? New York?s Metropolitan Transportation Authority called a familiar crisis-management play. It bought time.
Its board on Thursday agreed at Chairman Patrick Foye?s urging not to vote on a 4% biennial fare and toll hikes.
The state-run MTA, which operates mass transit in the New York City region, is in line for $4 billion from the federal rescue bill passed last month and the prospects of an even bigger aid package under President Biden and new Senate majority leader, New York Democrat Charles Schumer.
….
Still, the authority, one of the largest municipal issuers with $47.5 billion of core-credit debt, faces a budget crunch and a variety of pandemic-related uncertainties.
Author: Paul Burton
Publication Date:
Publication Site: Fidelity Fixed Income
Excerpt:
Dovetailing on President Biden’s clean-energy initiatives shortly after taking office, two of New York City’s five pension funds voted to divest their portfolios of an estimated $4 billion from securities related to fossil fuel companies.
The New York City Employees’ Retirement System and New York City Teachers’ Retirement System voted to approve divestments on Monday and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System is expected to proceed on a divestment vote imminently, Mayor Bill de Blasio and city Comptroller Scott Stringer said in a joint statement.
NYCERS and Teachers were valued at $91.4 billion and $77.4 billion as of November, according to data from Stringer’s office. Overall, the five systems have roughly $240 billion in assets under management, constituting the fourth largest public pension plan in the U.S.
Author: Paul Burton
Publication Date: 26 January 2021
Publication Site: Fidelity Fixed Income
Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/two-nyc-pension-funds-divesting-4-billion-oil-companies/
Excerpt:
Oil companies are quickly losing investors, including two pension funds in New York City, as more asset managers are pivoting to renewable options in the battle against climate change and for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing.
The two pension funds will divest an estimated $4 billion from fossil fuel companies. NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer on Twitter called the move “one of the largest divestments in the world.”
The move to sell holdings in oil companies mirrors the divestment from tobacco companies two decades ago.
The $77.4 billion New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) and the $91.4 New York City Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) approved the divestments in a vote on Monday. They represent the largest pension funds within the $239.8 billion New York City Retirement Systems.
Author: Ellen Chang
Publication Date: 26 January 2021
Publication Site: ai-CIO
Link: https://www.pionline.com/esg/nyc-pension-funds-divest-fossil-fuels
Excerpt:
Two of the five pension funds in the New York City Retirement Systems will divest an estimated $4 billion in securities related to fossil fuel companies, city officials said Monday.
Author: Hazel Bradford
Publication Date: 25 January 2021
Publication Site: Pensions & Investments
Description: Homicides rose about 45% from 2019 to 2020 in New York City.
Author: Ben Chapman
Publication Date: 7 January 2021
Publication Site: WSJ