# Westport Town Retirement System

Westport Town Retirement System is a Pension Fund based in Westport, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Westport, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Westport, CT, United States
- **Founded:** 1861
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** westportct.gov

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Westport Town Retirement System administers retirement benefits for municipal employees of Westport, Connecticut. Finance Director Gary Conrad handles day-to-day management as part of the town's broader financial operations, while investment decisions run through the Pension Investment Committee under the purview of the Board of Finance. First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker oversees the administration that supports the fund. The system's investment strategy concentrates heavily on secondary-market transactions within private markets. This approach favors acquiring limited-partnership interests from sellers seeking liquidity rather than committing to blind-pool primary funds — a posture that can accelerate capital deployment and reduce the J-curve effect common in institutional private-equity programs. Team composition reflects the layered governance typical of Connecticut municipal pensions. The Board of Finance — whose members have included Danielle Dobin, Jeff Hammer, Brian Gaines, Liz Heyer, Rich Hightower, Allyson Stollenwerck, and Elaine Whitney — provides elected oversight. This structure means investment decisions carry political as well as fiduciary dimensions, a characteristic shared by similarly sized New England town retirement systems. What distinguishes this pension is the concentration risk deliberately assumed by stacking its alternatives program into secondaries — a strategy that is operationally lighter for a small-staffed municipal plan but demands sharp pricing discipline.

## Sectors

- Secondaries & Special Situations

## People

- Gary Conrad — Finance Director
- Jennifer Tooker — First Selectwoman

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at Westport Town Retirement System?

Day-to-day financial operations are managed by Finance Director Gary Conrad, who serves on the Pension Investment Committee. Ultimate oversight rests with the Board of Finance, an elected body whose members have included Danielle Dobin, Jeff Hammer, and Brian Gaines. First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker's administration supports the fund's broader operational framework.

### How is the fund governed?

Governance runs through a layered municipal structure. The Board of Finance — an elected body — provides fiduciary oversight, while the Pension Investment Committee handles investment-level decisions. Finance Director Gary Conrad is the key operational principal. This structure is standard for Connecticut town retirement systems, where political accountability intersects with fiduciary duty.

### What is the fund's total asset size?

Westport Town Retirement System does not publicly report disaggregated AUM for the pension plan separate from the town's broader financial disclosures. The fund is typical of Connecticut municipal systems in its asset scale, meaning it is materially smaller than state-level plans. No independently verified AUM figure is available.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T02:43:31.692Z

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