FOR RELEASE:

The New York State Common Retirement Fund (Fund) has selected Muller & Monroe Asset Management (M2) to manage its emerging manager private equity portfolio, according to an announcement made by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. DiNapoli announced the signing at the $140.6 billion Common Retirement Fund’s annual Emerging Manager Diversity Roundtable  held last month in Albany.  More than 150 professionals attended DiNapoli’s fourth annual roundtable, where they met with the Fund’s investment officers and delivered short presentations on their businesses.

“Muller & Monroe is a leader in the emerging manager private equity space,” said DiNapoli. “We are confident that our relationship with them will result in strong, risk-adjusted returns for the Fund. With more than $4 billion under management by minority- and women-owned money management firms, the Fund’s partnerships with emerging management firms are among the largest in the institutional investment world. We’re proud of our record as an industry leader in this field.”

“We are delighted to join the program and provide investment services to CRF. It is an honor to have been added to the CRF team as they look to expand the emerging manager program. At M2, we believe in doing what we say we will do, and we will provide investment services in the most professional and honest way possible,” said André Rice, President of Muller & Monroe Asset Management.

The Fund’s emerging manager program in private equity, launched in 2005, identifies niche investment firms managing combined assets of up to $750 million and that are owned by women and minority managers. The firms focus on smaller, less traditional opportunities often bypassed by larger and established asset managers.

The Fund employs emerging managers to invest part of each asset class, including public and private equity, absolute return strategies and real estate.