The New York State Common Retirement Fund, Albany, is searching for opportunistic and absolute-return strategies consultants, according to an RFP on the website of Thomas DiNapoli, the state comptroller and sole trustee of the pension fund.
The $197.1 billion pension fund will hire one lead consultant and "will make multiple awards for a pool of consultants to provide specialized or project-based consulting services," the RFP said.
For pool consultants, the RFP said the pension fund "cannot guarantee the volume of work, if any, that will be allocated to a member of the pool," adding that these consultants should be ready to work "on an as-needed basis."
Matthew Sweeney, a spokesman for Mr. DiNapoli, said in an email that the RFP is routine, but he didn't provide additional information. The names of the current consultants and whether they can rebid could not be learned by press time.
The opportunistic strategies portfolio represented $4.85 billion in assets and the absolute-return strategies portfolio accounted for $5.5 billion as of March 31, according to the RFP.
Proposals are due by 4 p.m. EST Nov. 8, and interviews are expected to be conducted in mid-December. The contract is expected to take effect Feb. 1, 2018. The RFP didn't identify the length of the contract or how many firms would be hired for the consulting pool.
The RFP is available on Mr. DiNapoli's website.
