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City of Norwalk
The City of Norwalk Municipal Employees' Pension Board manages retirement and disability benefits for the Connecticut municipality's public workers.
City of Norwalk
The City of Norwalk Municipal Employees' Pension Board manages retirement and disability benefits for the Connecticut municipality's public workers. Board Chair Frank Nash governs the plan alongside key city officials: CFO Jared Schmitt, CHRO Tina Fogell, and Comptroller Chitsamay Lam. The fund's assets are held in trust for current and former city employees, with investment decisions ultimately steered by the Pension Board. The fund deploys capital across a layered structure. Public-market exposure comes through large indexed vehicles: the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund and the Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund provide broad equity beta. Fixed-income allocations include the Metropolitan West Total Return Bond Fund, the Prudential Core Bond Fund, and the PIMCO All Asset Fund—a multi-asset strategy that shifts tactically across equities, bonds, and real-return categories. On the alternatives side, the board's strategy documentation signals appetite for co-investments, buyouts, direct secondaries, venture capital (spanning seed through late stage), fund-of-funds commitments, and special situations. The geographic footprint extends from US-only mandates to global equity and debt exposures. Estimated plan assets total approximately $554 million (Altss estimate), making it a modestly-sized municipal fund by Connecticut standards. The board operates out of the City of Norwalk's administrative offices, with no additional investment offices identified. There is no indication of a separate investment staff; oversight appears to reside with the board members and city financial officers in a part-time governance model common to municipalities of this scale. The structural differentiator is the range of alternative investment strategies authorized for a plan of this size. Most sub-$1 billion municipal funds restrict themselves to public equity and fixed-income mandates. Norwalk's board, by contrast, has explicitly included venture capital, direct secondaries, and special situations in its investment policy—categories that typically require either specialized consultant relationships or direct manager access. This posture suggests a willingness to accept illiquidity in pursuit of return enhancement beyond what public-market indices can deliver for a closed municipal employee base.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Norwalk
Corporate office
Norwalk, CT, United States
Principals
Frank Nash
Chair, Municipal Employees' Pension Board
Jared Schmitt
Chief Financial Officer, City of Norwalk; Board Member
Tina Fogell
Chief Human Resources Officer; Staff to the Pension Board
Chitsamay Lam
Comptroller; Staff to the Pension Board
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions for the Norwalk pension fund?
The City of Norwalk Municipal Employees' Pension Board, chaired by Frank Nash, holds governing authority. Board membership includes CFO Jared Schmitt, CHRO Tina Fogell, and Comptroller Chitsamay Lam. The board operates through a committee structure typical of Connecticut municipal plans, likely supported by an external investment consultant, though the specific consultant relationship has not been publicly confirmed.
How does the fund split between public and private markets?
The plan holds significant public-market allocations through Vanguard index funds for US and international equities, alongside actively managed bond mandates from Metropolitan West, Prudential, and PIMCO. On the private-markets side, the board's documented strategy includes co-investments, buyouts, venture capital from seed to late stage, direct secondaries, fund-of-funds, and special situations. Specific dollar allocations to each bucket are not publicly disclosed.
Does the City of Norwalk pension fund invest directly in venture capital?
Yes. The investment strategy explicitly authorizes venture capital exposure spanning seed, start-up, and expansion-stage investments. It is unusual for a sub-$1 billion municipal fund to list venture directly in its strategy documentation; most plans of this size access venture indirectly through fund-of-funds or not at all.
What fixed-income strategies does the fund run?
The plan holds the Metropolitan West Total Return Bond Fund for broad core-plus fixed-income exposure, the Prudential Core Bond Fund for investment-grade credit, and the PIMCO All Asset Fund—which can shift across equities, bonds, and real-return instruments. Together these provide core and tactical fixed-income coverage.
How is the pension board structured and who serves on it?
The board is a municipal body responsible for plan governance. Frank Nash serves as chair. City CFO Jared Schmitt holds a board seat, while CHRO Tina Fogell and Comptroller Chitsamay Lam serve as staff to the board. This structure places financial and human-resources oversight directly on the governing committee, typical for Connecticut municipal plans.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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