HARTFORD, CONN (April 27, 2022) - Today, Adam M. Cloud, Treasurer of the City of Hartford and the Secretary of the City of Hartford Pension Commission, announced the release of the MERF’s initial Diversity Report Cards, calling attention to the need to address longstanding obstacles of discrimination and exclusion that are well known within the financial services industry.
Treasurer Cloud stated that the MERF’s Diversity Report Card is a tool that the MERF will use to evaluate and monitor the commitment of its investment managers to an increased level of inclusion and diversity within their firms and in the industry. The report cards serve as an evaluation of each firm’s level of attainment on a scale from A through F. Firms that fail to improve or who receive consistently poor grades will be evaluated as to whether they will continue to manage assets on the MERF’s behalf. Additionally, any firm seeking to do business with the MERF will be evaluated with regard to its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion prior to being awarded an allocation.
The MERF’s Diversity Report Card’s initial year surveyed its public markets managers. In subsequent years, it will be expanded to include service providers from other sectors, including private markets and other MERF vendors, as these firms also influence industry patterns and practices. “The primary challenge we face involves having representation in the halls, chambers and conference rooms where decisions are made regarding who is hired, promoted and contracted with – currently, these venues are generally not diverse. As such, the public employees and retirees served by my office are unable to monitor, assess and benchmark a firm’s performance with regards to hiring, retaining and promotion of Black, Latinx and other minorities and women within the industry. The MERF believes that a collaborative commitment to diversity and inclusion will create measurable and meaningful change, from the top down.”
Anyone wishing to review the Diversity Report Cards can access them at the City Treasurer’s website, www.hartfordcitytreasurer.org.
For more information, please contact P. Wayne Moore, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at (860) 757-9112.
