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Town of Fairfield Joint Retirement Investment Board
The Town of Fairfield Joint Retirement Investment Board manages retirement assets for permanent full-time employees of the Town of Fairfield, Connecticut.
Town of Fairfield Joint Retirement Investment Board
The Town of Fairfield Joint Retirement Investment Board manages retirement assets for permanent full-time employees of the Town of Fairfield, Connecticut. The board operates as a volunteer body, with Kenneth Brachfeld serving as chair, Eric Newman as secretary and vice-chair, and Tom Collimore as vice-chair. First Selectman Bill Gerber also sits on the board, linking pension governance directly to the elected leadership of the municipality. The board allocates across a diversified alternative investment program spanning buyout, distressed debt, growth equity, mezzanine, secondaries, special situations, and venture capital. The primary deployment path is a fund-of-funds structure, which provides access to private markets managers while maintaining a layer of diversification appropriate for a mid-sized municipal plan. Geographic focus is domestic, concentrated in US-based fund commitments. The board does not publicly disclose individual manager relationships or specific fund commitments. The fund operates with a lean governance model — volunteer trustees rather than a dedicated investment staff — which shapes its reliance on external fund managers and consultants for sourcing and due diligence. Eric Newman, the board secretary, also sits on the NASP-MiDA Africa Institutional Investor Advisory Council, creating a connection to emerging institutional investor networks that may inform the board's perspective on diverse manager sourcing. There is no known philanthropic vehicle or co-investment club associated with the board. The board's defining structural feature is its integration into Fairfield's municipal government. Investment decisions for the town's pension assets are made by a committee whose members include both appointed trustees and the town's top elected official. This creates a governance dynamic where pension investment policy and municipal fiscal priorities are tightly coupled — distinct from independent pension boards that operate at arm's length from city hall.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Fairfield
Corporate office
Fairfield, CT, United States
Principals
Kenneth Brachfeld
Chair, Joint Retirement Investment Board
Eric Newman
Secretary and Vice-Chair, Joint Retirement Investment Board
Tom Collimore
Vice-Chair, Joint Retirement Investment Board
Bill Gerber
First Selectman of Fairfield and Board Member
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions at the Town of Fairfield Joint Retirement Investment Board?
The board operates as a volunteer body of elected and appointed trustees. Kenneth Brachfeld chairs the board, with Eric Newman serving as secretary and vice-chair and Tom Collimore as vice-chair (per public record). Bill Gerber, the First Selectman of Fairfield, also serves as a board member, directly connecting pension governance to the town's elected leadership.
How does the board access private markets?
The board uses a fund-of-funds structure as its primary vehicle for private market exposure. This approach layers diversification across multiple managers and strategies — including buyout, distressed debt, growth equity, mezzanine, secondaries, and venture — while keeping operational demands manageable for a volunteer-led board with no dedicated investment staff.
What is the relationship between the JRIB and the Town of Fairfield?
The Joint Retirement Investment Board is a municipal entity of the Town of Fairfield, Connecticut. It manages two single-employer defined-benefit plans for the town's permanent full-time employees. The First Selectman — the town's chief elected official — sits on the board, making pension governance part of the broader municipal government structure rather than a fully independent authority.
Does the board make direct investments or only fund commitments?
Available information indicates the board invests through fund commitments and a fund-of-funds approach. There is no public evidence of direct co-investments, SPVs, or individually negotiated deals. This posture is consistent with mid-sized municipal plans that lack large internal investment teams for direct deal sourcing and diligence.
What asset classes does the board target?
The board's private market strategy spans buyout, distressed debt, growth equity, mezzanine, secondaries, special situations, and venture capital. This broad mandate — executed through fund commitments — provides exposure across the risk-return spectrum while maintaining the diversification appropriate for a municipal defined-benefit plan.
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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