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Stringer to Unveil Changes for New York City’s Pension System

Dozens of city pension managers would have to regularly report their personal investment transactions, and placement agents for investment managers would be banned from doing any business with New York City’s $150 billion retirement system, under a reform plan to be announced on Thursday.

The new proposals by the city comptroller’s office come after state regulators, conducting a monthslong examination of the city pension system, subpoenaed about 20 investment firms late last year to review possible conflicts of interest.

Scott M. Stringer, who took office on Jan. 1 as comptroller, said on Wednesday that he wanted to “set a high standard from Day 1.”

“I’m not waiting for a report or an investigation to conclude,” he said.

Mr. Stringer, previously Manhattan’s borough president, said he would detail his plan Thursday morning at a meeting of the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit civic financial watchdog.

He said his enhanced disclosure requirements would affect employees in the office’s Bureau of Asset Management, which oversees investments for the five funds for retired city workers. Under existing rules, bureau employees must disclose potential conflicts of interest once a year. The new rules would require them to report personal trades to a compliance officer on a regular basis, possibly quarterly.

Mr. Stringer said his general counsel, Kathryn Diaz, would spearhead the reforms. Ms. Diaz formerly worked as special counsel to Benjamin M. Lawsky, the state superintendent of financial services, whose regulators are investigating the pension funds.

Pension funds, placement agents — who are paid intermediaries who work with investment firms — and conflicts of interest have been scrutinized since a pay-to-play scandal involving state pension funds erupted five years ago, leading to criminal indictments and a prison sentence for the former state comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, on corruption charges.

State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli banned placement agents for those firms handling state retirement-fund investments. A city-imposed ban applies only to private-equity investments, not to other types of investments, Mr. Stringer said.

There are currently placement agents with two investment firms working in the city system, Mr. Stringer’s spokesman, Eric Sumberg, said.

Mr. Stringer needs the approval of five different boards to impose a blanket ban of placement agents. He said he would give them proposals by March.

His plan would also require asset management employees to participate in ethics training, create both an internal auditor and an internal audit committee, establish senior risk and compliance officers, and call for more oversight of disability payments.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 23 of the New York edition with the headline: Stringer to Propose Changes for the City Pension System. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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