Holy smoke!
Despite Mayor Bloomberg’s crusade against cigarettes, city pension funds remain heavily invested in Big Tobacco — with more than 6 million shares, worth $103 million.
The $82.5 billion pension system owns 6,024,823 shares of Altria, formerly known as Philip Morris, according to an agenda for the company’s stockholders meeting next month.
Critics fumed when told that mountains of taxpayer money are being invested in cigarettes, described as “accessories to murder” by the city’s own health commissioner in 2006.
“I think it is absurd,” City Councilman Tony Avella said. “Given the anti-smoking effort New York has launched, to invest in a company whose primary product is cigarettes is counterproductive.”
Councilman Eric Gioia agreed. “We’ve already taken big steps, like banning smoking in bars, so it’s hypocritical and foolish for our tax and pension dollars to be invested with the exact people we’re trying to stop,” he said.
Four of the city’s five pension funds list Altria or Philip Morris among their largest equity holdings in their 2008 annual reports.
The funds have debated tobacco holdings. About 10 years ago, NYCERS decided to stop pouring new money into the companies, but it never divested.
“The city can pull these funds out if they want to,” a former pension-fund official said. “Even if invested through an index fund, there are ways to do it, especially when you’re such a large investor. Back when there was a ban on South African businesses, the city pulled out those funds.”
NYCERS, the city’s largest pension fund, is overseen by city Comptroller Bill Thompson, who is also one of 11 board members.
With him are the mayor’s voting representative, Finance Commissioner Martha Stark, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, the five borough presidents and the heads of three municipal unions.
The mayor recuses himself from pension issues.
“They are . . . lecturing people that smoking is a bad bet, then putting their money down on it themselves,” said Audrey Silk of New York City Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment.