What's happening
This bill prohibits investment managers from using placement agents or intermediaries to secure investments from the New York State Common Retirement Fund.
Why it matters
Reduces risk of pay-to-play and corruption. By banning investment managers from using placement agents or intermediaries to secure investments from the state pension fund, the bill aims to prevent undue influence and potential bribery in how public retirement money is allocated.
Increases transparency and accountability. Investment managers must certify they have not used any placement agents or intermediaries, creating a paper trail and making it easier to audit or investigate fund management relationships.
Narrows definition to close loopholes. The bill carefully defines both “investment manager” and “placement agent or intermediary,” ensuring that employees or affiliates who are primarily hired to influence investment decisions are also covered by the ban, not just external consultants.
Seeks to protect public retirees’ interests. By tightening controls around how investment decisions are made for the Common Retirement Fund, the legislation is designed to safeguard the fund from conflicts of interest and ensure that investment choices are based on merit and fiduciary responsibility, not on who can pay for access.
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Who cares
Common Retirement Fund and State Comptroller
The bill would bar the fund from engaging or investing with managers using placement agents to obtain fund investments and require certifications that managers have not used those services.
Investment managers seeking fund investments
Managers would have to certify, in the form and manner prescribed by the fund, that they have not used placement agents or other intermediaries to secure fund investments.
Placement agents and registered lobbyists
The prohibition would cover outside intermediaries paid by investment managers to help obtain fund investments, regardless of how they are compensated.
Investment managers’ employees and affiliates’ employees
Employees would generally be excluded from the intermediary definition unless employed principally to secure or influence a particular fund investment or transaction.
Headline styles
Ban Retirement Fund Middlemen
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Signed chap.203
- Delivered to governor
- Returned to assembly
- Passed senateVote 60–0
- 3rd reading cal.895
- Substituted for S4761
- Referred to civil service and pensions
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading cal.255
- Returned to assembly
- Died in senate
Show 9 earlier actions
- Referred to rules
- Delivered to senate
- Passed assembly
- Ordered to third reading rules cal.475
- Rules report cal.475
- Reported
- Reported referred to rules
- Reported referred to ways and means
- Referred to governmental employees
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Ban Investment Middlemen
Senate Floor Calendar · Sponsor Martin J. Golden
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3137
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 26, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ABBATE -- (at request of the State Comptroller) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Employees
AN ACT to amend the retirement and social security law, in relation to prohibiting the use of placement agents by managers doing business with the common retirement fund
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The retirement and social security law is amended by adding a new section 424-a to read as follows:
§ 424-a. Use of placement agents or intermediaries prohibited. 1. The fund shall not engage, hire, invest with or commit to an investment manager that is using the services of a placement agent or intermediary to assist such investment manager in obtaining investments by the fund nor shall the fund engage, hire, invest with or commit to an investment manager without obtaining from such investment manager a certification in the form and manner prescribed by the fund stating that such investment manager has not used the services of a placement agent or other intermediary to assist such investment manager in obtaining investments by the fund.
2. For the purposes of this section:
(a) "investment manager" shall mean any person, other than an employee of the comptroller, or entity engaged by the common retirement fund to manage a part or all of an investment portfolio of the fund. "Manage" shall include, but is not limited to, the analysis of portfolio holdings, and the purchase, sale, and lending thereof. Any investment made by the fund pursuant to subdivision seven of section one hundred seventy-seven of this chapter shall be deemed to be the investment of the fund in such investment entity rather than in the assets of such investment entity.
(b) "placement agent or intermediary" shall mean any person or entity, including registered lobbyists, directly or indirectly engaged and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06993-01-7
A. 3137 2
compensated by an investment manager, other than an employee of the investment manager, to assist the investment manager in obtaining investments by the fund whether compensated on a flat fee, a contingent fee, or any other basis. Employees of an investment manager and its affiliates are excluded from this definition unless they are employed principally for the purpose of securing or influencing the decision to secure a particular investment transaction or investment by the fund.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.