NYC’s former CIO becomes vice chair, institutional, at Neuberger Berman.
Steven Meier starts work today.
In November, Meier, the chief investment officer of New York City’s five pension system, announced he was leaving. Today, he starts work at Neuberger Berman as vice chair of Institutional.
It’s an interesting match of skills, considering NYC’s recent plan to decarbonize its funds by 2040, and the asset management company that made a name for itself through its environmental, social, and corporate governance initiatives.
In the newly created role, Meier “will work alongside Neuberger’s investment teams and
institutional client coverage to deliver investment insights and thought leadership to U.S. public pension funds and other global institutional allocators, helping them achieve their long-term investment and strategic objectives,” according to a press release issued today by the firm.
Meier told Markets Group, that one of his primary motivations in moving to Neuberger is that he wants to “help further thought leadership, innovation, and institutional best practices throughout the investment and asset allocator community.”
Neuberger Berman will likely be tapping Meier’s acumen from his 40 years of industry experience that, along with his three years as CIO in NYC, also included a stint as interim CIO of Connecticut, more than a decade at State Street as executive vice-president of fixed income, currency, and cash and as its EVP and CIO of global cash management, along with similar executive fixed income roles at Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, and Oppenheimer. As part of his new role, he will also join the firm’s Asset Allocation Committee, which reviews and refines the firm’s market outlook for better risk-adjusted outcomes.
“I am thrilled to welcome Steve to Neuberger,” said George Walker, Neuberger’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We have worked together on many initiatives over the years, and I have long admired his stellar career accomplishments, most recently his impressive track record stewarding the NYC public pension funds.”
In one such initiative, NYC provided the seed funding for a Neuberger emerging manager initiative for diverse managers in private equity in 2025. Having consistently outperformed its benchmarks, the pension system had increased its emerging manager exposure by $3B in fiscal year 2004/2025 to $13.02B.
Matt Malloy, head of global institutional client group and head of EMEA at Neuberger added, “Institutional investors face a number of complex issues in today’s environment. Steve’s investment expertise and strategic experience, combined with Neuberger’s global platform, will enable us to deepen our partnership with clients and help them navigate both public and private markets.”
Meier’s skills from the NYC role nod to Neuberger’s strong core mission and processes. At NYC pensions, along with delivering one-year returns of 10.3% , as well as 9.4% for the three-year mark, (filed June 30, net of fees) — and solidly beating the 7% benchmark — Meier had mandates to choose managers with strong, net-zero plans to help three of the NYC pension systems achieve net-zero emissions for the portfolio by 2040. Working across five pension systems, he had also been applying a total portfolio approach to break down siloes within the system, encouraging team integration.
About a month before he quit, he shared his approach on social media, following an interview with Markets Group reporter, Muskan Arora. The post quickly gathered close to 200 responses on LinkedIn.
Steve Meier’s post regarding TPA on LinkedIn in October 2025 gathered an enthusiastic audience response.
Along with Meier’s veteran industry experience, Neuberger will also be getting another considerable advantage. It is often said that only a CIO can fully understands what another CIO needs to do in order to effect changes, and improve portfolio outcomes. With layers of bureaucracy and management tied into investment decisions, there is more complexity to a CIO’s role than what is commonly perceived. Once CIOs handles a complicated system effectively, they are often courted by management firms for their leadership abilities, diplomacy, and ability to understand other CIOs in the industry. Meier navigated one of the more complicated systems in the U.S., with five systems wrapped into the $317B portfolio, including pensions for police, fire, public employees, teachers, and board of education. Each of the five had a monthly investment meeting with separate board members reviewing the portfolios.
Asked about his new role, Meier told Markets Group in an emailed response on Saturday, “I hope to work with CIOs and plan trustees around the world to improve investment outcomes through fostering a well-informed understanding of all aspects of investing. The CIO community is truly one where we learn from each other through engagement and honest discussion.… I hope to continue having a meaningful role in developing and shaping our industry in the coming years.”
Neuberger manages $558B of equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, and hedge fund portfolios for global institutions, advisors, and individuals, with the majority ($380B), for institutions. In 2020, the firm carried a rare United Nations recognition as a Principals for Responsible Investment (PRI) leader. Today, its new offerings lean toward convictions in small caps, actively managed ETFs, and expanded private equity through European Long-Term Investment Funds.
“I’m incredibly excited to be bringing all of the knowledge and experience I’ve gathered over my career to this new chapter,” said Meier, in the firm’s released statement. “Neuberger’s unique employee ownership culture and powerful platform, spanning public and private markets, provides an incredible opportunity to deliver investment solutions. I know first-hand what truly makes a difference for institutional investors and allocators, and I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues to deliver innovative investment capabilities and support to our clients.”
Meier always knew he wanted to help allocators throughout the world. Now he’s got 2,900 teammates to help him do it.
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