Having been sworn in on 1 January, the new comptroller of New York City has set out details of his leadership team, including the appointment of a seasoned pensions industry professional tasked with overseeing the investment of the city’s $308.8bn pension funds.
Mark Levine, who takes over from Brad Lander as comptroller of New York City, has appointed Monte Tarbox as interim chief investment officer, responsible for overseeing the investment strategy of the city’s five pension funds on an interim basis.
Tarbox has been executive director of investments at the $11bn National Electrical Benefit Fund for more than a decade, between 2013 and 2023, and has previously served as chief investment officer of the International Association of Machinists Pension Fund.
More recently, he served as president of AFL-CIO ITC, which provides investor services and labour relations for the AFL-CIO Building Investment Trust. He has also undertaken consulting work for trade unions on pension fund and investment issues.
Tarbox replaces Steven Meier, who held the CIO role throughout Brad Lander’s term and announced his departure in November. Meier is set to take on a new role as vice chairman, institutional client group, at Neuberger Berman.
Last year, the New York City funds reported double-digit or high single-digit performance, while having effectively divested from most fossil fuel holdings and pursuing their net zero by 2040 target.
In his new role, Tarbox will act as a fiduciary managing the investments of the city’s five pension funds, working closely with the trustees of each fund. One immediate challenge will be a review of major equity mandates after outgoing comptroller Lander recommended the potential termination of BlackRock-run equity mandates for TRS, NYCERS and BERS, worth a combined $42bn in assets, as well as a $384mn mandate with Fidelity, after both managers failed to meet the pension funds’ climate expectations. A decision on these potential divestments is expected over the coming months.
$42bn on the line: NYC comptroller pushes for BlackRock divestment
