New York State Common Retirement Fund

What New York State Common Retirement Fund does

The New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) is the third-largest US public pension fund, with approximately $295.4 billion in assets under management as of fiscal year-end 2025-26. It is administered by the Office of the New York State Comptroller, currently Thomas P. DiNapoli, who serves as the fund's sole trustee under New York State law. The fund provides defined-benefit pension, disability, and survivor benefits to roughly 1 million active and retired members of the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), which comprises the Employees' Retirement System (ERS, established 1920) and the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS, established 1966). Its long-term policy asset allocation spans domestic equities (25%), international equities (14%), private equity (15%), real estate (12%), real assets (4%), fixed income (22%), credit (4%), opportunistic/absolute return (3%), and cash (1%), with execution largely delegated to external institutional managers through index and active mandates.

The fund's member-facing technology is delivered through the Comptroller's digital platforms, principally Retirement Online (account management, pension estimates, loans, beneficiaries), NYS Payroll Online (pay stubs and tax withholding), Open Book New York (transparency portal for state and local financial records), the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System covering 3,100 local governments, and the Unclaimed Funds search tool. Specialized programs include the Emerging Manager Program for minority- and women-owned investment firms and the Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions Program, which integrates climate risk into investment decisions and proxy voting; the fund received a Sierra Club 'A' grade in 2025 for its proxy-voting practices.

The business model is non-commercial. NYSCRF does not charge fees to members; it receives employer and employee contributions and invests them to fund future defined benefits. External investment management fees are an expense, not revenue, and the entity's value to its constituents is measured by long-term AUM growth, funded status, and benefit security rather than top-line revenue. Recent strategic activity includes a $500 million LP commitment to KKR's North America Fund XIV in 2026, increased stewardship engagement (Palantir/ICE letters; Tesla pay-package opposition), and record AUM at FY 2025-26 year-end.

Name

New York State Common Retirement Fund

Legal name

New York State Common Retirement Fund

Website

https://osc.state.ny.us

Company type

Public

Founded year

1920

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is the third-largest US public pension fund, managing approximately $295.4 billion in assets to provide defined-benefit pensions, disability, and survivor benefits to roughly 1 million New York State and local government employees and retirees, administered by the State Comptroller as sole trustee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Pension Fund Management

NAICS

Pension Funds (525110)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & Public Pension Funds (DB/DC Sponsors) (FSAAAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Pension Master Trusts, Superannuation & Provident Funds (FSAAAGAB)

Keywords

• Public pension fund
• Defined benefit pensions
• Pension asset management
• Retirement benefits administration
• Institutional investment portfolio

Headquarters

HQ city

Albany

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pension Fund Management: As a public pension fund, NYSCRF does not generate revenue in the traditional sense. It receives contributions from public employees and employers and invests them to pay future retirement benefits. The fund's investment returns fund the defined benefits paid to retirees.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The New York State Common Retirement Fund is a government-administered public pension fund that invests contributions from New York State and local public employees to provide retirement, disability, and death benefits through the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS). Managed by the New York State Comptroller as sole trustee, the fund deploys a diversified portfolio across domestic equities, international equities, private equity, real estate, fixed income, and alternative assets to fund defined benefit pension obligations for approximately one million active and retired public employees.

Product overview

The New York State Common Retirement Fund operates as a comprehensive government financial services ecosystem administered by the New York State Comptroller's Office. The core infrastructure consists of the $295.4 billion Common Retirement Fund managing pension assets through the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS), which encompasses both the Employees' Retirement System (ERS) and Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS). Member-facing services are delivered through Retirement Online, a digital portal enabling pension management, loan applications, and beneficiary updates, while NYS Payroll Online handles state employee compensation. Open Book New York provides public transparency through searchable state contracts, payments, and local government financial data. Additional services include the Fiscal Stress Monitoring System for local government oversight, Unclaimed Funds search capabilities, and an Online Services Portal hosting various government applications. The Emerging Manager Program and Sustainable Investments and Climate Solutions Program represent specialized investment initiatives within the pension fund structure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retirement Online

Quantifiable outcome

• 11.94% annual return for fiscal year 2025-26, closing at record $295.4 billion
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Stanford Economist (referenced in challenger analysis)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChallenger Drew Warshaw commissioned a Stanford economist's analysis showing the fund underperformed its own benchmarks by 39% over 19 years. DiNapoli's office disputes these figures. This represents an external academic review of fund performance, not an official partnership.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Minnesota State Board of Investment: MSBI manages retirement and trust assets for Minnesota with a peer institutional mandate. Also a co-investor in KKR NA Fund XIV ($400M), it is a like-for-like state pension peer for scale and policy allocation benchmarking.
• California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS): CalPERS is the largest US public pension fund, serving California public employees with a comparable defined-benefit mandate and a similar diversified institutional asset allocation. It is the most natural peer for benchmarking scale, governance, and returns among US state pensions.
• Washington State Investment Board: WSIB manages pension and other state trust assets for Washington with a similarly diversified institutional mandate. Notably a co-investor with NYSCRF in KKR NA Fund XIV ($600M), it is a direct peer on alternative-asset allocation and mega-fund participation.
• Florida State Board of Administration: SBA Florida manages the Florida Retirement System pension assets with a large, diversified institutional portfolio. Comparable in scale and breadth to NYSCRF, particularly for alternative-asset and global-equity exposures.
• Texas Teacher Retirement System: TRS of Texas is one of the largest US public pensions, with a defined-benefit structure for public educators analogous to portions of NYSCRF's membership. It is a standard comparable for asset allocation and governance.
• California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS): CalSTRS is the second-largest US public pension fund and serves a state-level public-sector workforce analogous to NYSCRF's ERS/PFRS coverage. Its scale, asset allocation, and policy-driven governance make it a primary comparable.
• Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund: Oregon PERF is identified alongside NYSCRF and CalPERS as one of five US public pensions with formal climate investment targets. Closely comparable on ESG governance and state-level DB structure.

Broad incumbents

• Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS): PSERS is a large state-level public pension with a DB mandate comparable to NYSCRF's ERS structure. It provides a useful benchmark for funding ratios and policy allocation among older, mature state systems.
• New Jersey Pension Fund (Division of Pensions & Benefits): The New Jersey Pension Fund is a large state public pension with a DB structure analogous to NYSCRF. It is a broad incumbent peer used to benchmark governance, funding status, and fee structure debates in state-level pensions.

Regional players

• New York City Employees' Retirement System: NYCERS is one of five NYC pension systems and is administered alongside the state fund within the New York public-pension ecosystem. It is a regional peer that shares jurisdiction and is sometimes compared on joint holdings such as Palantir.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/nyslrs
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/NYSLRS
• Facebookfacebook.com/nyslrs
• Instagraminstagram.com/nyslrs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments5 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New York State Common Retirement Fund