have launched an internal investigation following the disclosure that their chief investment officer was accused of a conflict of interest while working for a New York pension fund that once employed him in the same capacity.
As issue are conflict-of-interest allegations raised in a $96 million arbitration case by the New York State Nurses Association that named Russell Niemie who was was the chief investment officer in New York. Niemie was not a defendant in the case, nor was he cited as a cause for the arbitration award.
Niemie has made no investments for the New Jersey pension fund with White Oak since his arrival, officials said. He did not respond to requests for comment through the pension fund’s spokesman, or by email. The filings said Niemie recommended the association’s pension plan renew its agreement with White Oak, which it did. And then soon afterward, he left to work for them, according to the document.
In its own briefs with the federal court, White Oak said the Nurses Association had benefitted “at all times” from its investments with the firm.