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Ranji H Nagaswami, a veteran asset management expert who serves on the Advisory Board of the Yale School of Management, was Monday named by New York City Mayor Michael R Bloomberg as the administration's Chief Investment Advisor.
The chief investment advisor has been newly created to be the administration's full-time, central advisor to the Mayor's trustees on the five New York City retirement system boards and the New York City Deferred Compensation Plan Board.
Nagaswami has more than 20 years of experience in investment management at large asset management firms, focusing on the needs of institutional and individual investors, and has served as an investment advisor for public pension systems across the country.
On behalf of the Mayor, Nagaswami will work closely with the Office of the New York City Comptroller to monitor and advise on the performance of investments and investment managers for all asset classes held by the pension systems and Deferred Compensation Plan, which hold combined assets valued at more than $100 billion and cover more than 350,000 active employees and 275,000 retirees and beneficiaries.
'We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Ranji's deep experience, talent and record of success in managing major investments," Bloomberg said in a statement.
"The cost to city taxpayers of the pension systems is growing at an astronomical rate, from $1.1 billion in 2001 to an expected $7.6 billion this year, which is more than 10 percent of the entire City budget.
"We will continue to pursue the reforms desperately needed in Albany to reduce the unmanageable costs of pension benefits, while at the same time working to ensure we are getting best possible returns on pension fund investments and looking at every option.'
Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel said that as Chief Investment Advisor, Nagaswami will help guide the more than $100 billion in New York City's retirement systems, noting that her experience with large-scale asset management and understanding of global capital markets make her perfectly-suited for the new role.
As pension costs continue to swallow a disproportionallly large amount of the City's budget, she will lead efforts to try to increase investment returns and think about new ways to manage the funds' portfolios.
'First, I want to thank Mayor Bloomberg for giving me the opportunity to serve," said Nagaswami.
"As an investor and fiduciary, I have spent more than 20 years consistently delivering results for my clients, and now I hope to be able to the same for city taxpayers. I look forward to working with the dedicated professionals in the comptroller's office to deliver research-based investment advice and strategy to the trustees of the pension boards and deferred compensation plan board,' she said.
Nagaswami, who was born and raised in India, earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Mumbai University in Mumbai, and a Masters of Business Administration from Yale University.
She moved to the United States to attend business school. Nagaswami also serves on Yale University's Investment Committee and on the Advisory Board of the Yale School of Management.
She is a Henry Crown Fellow and serves on the Henry Crown Board of Overseers at the Aspen Institute.
She previously served as a board member of Covenant House of New York, an adolescent care agency serving homeless, runaway and at-risk youth.
As the administration's Chief Investment Advisor, Nagaswami will conduct research on all relevant investment issues that impact the portfolios; provide the Administration's trustees with timely investment reviews, reports and presentations; make recommendations on asset allocation and investment strategy; meet and report on meetings with consultants and potential investment partners in connection with prospective investment opportunities and among others, work with the Comptroller's Bureau of Asset Management to ensure that all appropriate information is analyzed and integrated into the selection, termination and performance reviews of investment managers.
Most recently Nagaswami worked at Alliance Bernstein, a global investment firm with more than $450 billion in client assets, where she last served within the firm's Blend Strategies Group as Chief Investment Officer with responsibility for the firm's Multi-Asset and Blend Equity Portfolios.