New York City Retirement Systems is seeking broker-dealers who will help the retirement system sell some of its private equity partnerships, said a notice on the website of Scott Stringer, the city comptroller and fiduciary for the five pension funds that make up the $158.7 billion system.
The pension system is conducting an accelerated search — proposals are due by 4 p.m. EST on Feb. 6. “The comptroller’s office needs to move expeditiously in order to retain a broker-dealer … so as to take advantage of current favorable market conditions,” the notice said. “A negotiated acquisition procurement method will be used to select the broker-dealer.”
The notice said the broker-dealer “will serve in a fiduciary capacity” to the comptroller and the New York City Retirement Systems.
The solicitation did not provided information about the scope of the proposed sale, the number of private equity investments to be sold, the dollar values or the investment performance of the private equity partnerships.
The notice can be found on the comptroller’s website.
“This review is being conducted as part of the private equity investment team’s ongoing responsibility to actively manage its portfolio,” said Eric Sumberg, a spokesman for Mr. Stringer, in an e-mail. He declined to provide further details.
As of Sept. 30, private equity represented $9.74 billion, or 6.1% of the system’s assets.
The contract will start around March 1 and run for two years, with an option to renew no more than four additional years.
According to the notice, the broker-dealer, among other things, will advise on secondary strategy, provide in-depth analysis on valuation and pricing, and identify potential buyers and sellers.
