New York Retirement Systems invested an additional $150 million with AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, a mutual fund investing primarily in high credit-quality fixed-income securities, said John McKay, a spokesman for New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer.
The investment is part of the retirement system’s economically targeted investments policy, said a news release from Mr. Stringer, the fiduciary for the five pensions funds that comprise the $162.9 billion New York Retirement Systems.
The policy seeks to “generate risk-adjusted market rates of returns and to promote economic development” within the five boroughs of New York City, according to the comptroller’s website. The five city pension funds “share an investment policy allocation of 2% of pension assets toward economically targeted investments.”
The news release said the housing investment trust’s New York strategy includes efforts to “preserve the affordability of 12,500 to 15,000 housing units and construct 5,000 to 7,500 new housing units over the next five years.”
According to the comptroller’s website, the New York City Retirement Systems began investing in the AFL-CIO trust in 2002, and had invested more than $615 million as of June 30, 2014, the website said.
