HERNANDEZ RIPS DINAPOLI FOR BILLIONS LEFT ON THE TABLE AS PENSION FUND TRAILS THE MARKET
Candidate News Release of August 19, 2026
ALBANY, NY — Republican and Conservative nominee for New York State Comptroller Joseph Hernandez today responded to Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s press release touting a 6.12% quarterly return for the $309.7 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, calling it a victory lap for underperformance while investment management fees have grown nearly sixfold under DiNapoli’s watch.
“Tom DiNapoli wants credit for a 6.12% quarter while the S&P 500 surged roughly 15% and the Nasdaq roughly 21% over that same stretch, one of the best quarters for stocks in six years,” Hernandez said. “New York’s retirees and taxpayers deserve better than billions of dollars left on the table while their current Comptroller celebrates.”
According to the Comptroller’s own release, nearly 38 cents of every dollar in the fund is invested in alternative assets, including 14.3% in private equity, 14.3% in real estate and real assets, and 9.1% in credit, absolute return strategies, and “opportunistic alternatives.” These investments sit in some of the least transparent and highest-fee corners of the market, with no public disclosure of specific managers, individual deals, or complete fee schedules. “New Yorkers have no idea who is managing this money, what they’re being paid, or what they’re buying,” Hernandez said. “That lack of transparency has a price tag.”
Investment management fees paid by the fund have exploded from approximately $145 million to $862 million during DiNapoli’s tenure. “That is real money that should be working for New York retirees and taxpayers instead of going toward fees paid to Wall Street middlemen,” Hernandez said. Those figures do not include carried interest, which is the share of investment profits paid to fund managers on top of traditional management fees. The true cost of managing the fund’s private equity, real estate, and other alternative investments tops $1.8 billion, more than double the figure DiNapoli’s office publicizes.
Hernandez also questioned DiNapoli’s reliance on two reviews cited in his release as independent validation of the fund’s management. One review was conducted by Weaver and Tidwell LLP, a private vendor selected and retained through the Comptroller’s own office procurement process. The second review was conducted by the New York State Department of Financial Services, another state agency operating alongside DiNapoli for nearly two decades.
“DiNapoli is grading his own homework and calling it independent oversight,” Hernandez said. “A vendor his office hired and another Albany state agency do not provide the kind of real, arm’s-length review New Yorkers deserve for nearly $310 billion in retirement money. New Yorkers deserve full transparency into how their retirement dollars are being managed and what they are paying for it.”
Hernandez, a businessman and investor with decades of experience in capital markets, has made greater transparency and accountability in the management of New York’s pension fund a central part of his campaign for Comptroller. As Comptroller, Hernandez will push for greater disclosure of investment managers, fees, performance, underlying investments, and the true costs associated with alternative investments.
“DiNapoli is celebrating while New York’s pension fund trails the broader market and taxpayers are footing the bill for nearly six times the investment management fees,” Hernandez said. “After nearly two decades in office, New Yorkers deserve a Comptroller who will demand better performance, greater transparency, and accountability for every dollar entrusted to the pension fund.”
Posted: August 19th, 2026 under General News, Northern NY News, Political News, State Government News, Statewide News.
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