(1) In general. All monies and funds held under all and any provisions of the Retirement System shall be invested in accordance with the regulations for the investment of similar State funds as set forth in the Act of March 1, 1974, (P.L. 125, No. 31), as amended (71 Pa. C.S. Section 5931), and as the same may be amended from time to time. The members of the Board shall be the trustees of the fund and shall have exclusive control and management of the fund and full power to invest and preserve the same, subject, however, to the exercise of that degree of judgment, skill and care under the circumstances then prevailing which persons of prudence, discretion and intelligence, who are familiar with such matters, would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims. Subject to like terms, conditions, limitations and restrictions, said trustees shall have the power to hold, purchase, sell, lend, assign, pledge, transfer or dispose of any of the securities and investments in which any of the moneys of the fund shall have been invested as well as the proceeds of said investments and of any moneys belonging to said fund.

(2) Stated interest guarantees. All or any part of the monies and funds under all and any provisions of the Retirement System may be invested in any contracts and policies providing for stated interest guarantees, if issued by a legal reserve life insurance company authorized to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. No investment shall be made in contracts and policies issued by a company whose capital and surplus is less than $25,000,000 on the 31st day of December next preceding the date of investment, and no such investment may exceed one-half of one percent (½%) of the admitted assets of said company on the 31st day of December next preceding the date of investment.

(3) Investment in Northern Ireland.

(a) The Board, or its designee, shall annually survey all corporations or other business entities in which the assets of the Retirement System are invested in order to ascertain whether:

(.1) the company, directly or indirectly, through such entities as its parent corporation, any subsidiary or affiliate is doing business in Northern Ireland or with the government of Northern Ireland or any agency or instrumentality thereof;

(.2) there is evidence of discriminatory employment practices among those companies doing business in Northern Ireland based upon the composition of their work force, employment laws;

(.3) the company has adopted or is willing to adopt the MacBride Principles;

(.4) the company has taken any affirmative action to eliminate ethnic and religious discrimination by:

(.a) increasing the representation of individuals from under-represented religious groups in the workforce, including managerial, supervisory, administrative, clerical and technical jobs;

(.b) providing adequate security for the protection of minority employees both at the workplace and while travelling to and from work;

(.c) banning provocative religious or political emblems from the workplace;

(.d) publicly advertising all job openings and making special recruitment efforts to attract applicants from under-represented religious groups;

(.e) providing that layoff, recall and termination procedures should not in practice favor particular religious groupings;

(.f) abolishing job reservations, apprenticeship restrictions and differential employment criteria which discriminate on the basis of religion or ethnic origin;

(.g) developing training programs that will prepare substantial numbers of current minority employees for skilled jobs, including the expansion of existing programs and the creation of new programs to train, upgrade and improve the skills of minority employees;
(.h) establishing procedures to assess, identify and actively recruit minority employees with potential for further advancement;

(.i) appointing senior management staff members to oversee affirmative action efforts and the setting up of timetables to carry out affirmative action policies;

(b) The Board, on or before the first day of January of each year, shall forward to the members of Council and make available to the public the findings of its survey.

(c) No monies or funds held under any provision of the Retirement System shall remain or hereafter be invested in any corporation or other business entity doing business, either directly or indirectly, in Northern Ireland or with the government of Northern Ireland or any agency or instrumentality thereof, that is not a signatory of the MacBride Principles.

(d) Notice of the provisions of this section shall be given to investment managers for the Retirement System and all corporations or other business entities in which the assets of the Retirement System are invested.

(4) Prohibited Investments. No moneys or funds held under any provision of the Retirement System shall remain invested, or hereinafter be invested in, the stocks, securities, or other obligations of the major companies engaged in the manufacture, of tobacco or tobacco products, which companies at present are the following:

(a) Philip Morris

(b) R.J.R. Nabisco

(c) Brooke Group

(d) American Brands, Inc.

(e) U.S.T., Inc.

(5) Investments in Predatory Lenders and Affiliates.[40]

(a) No monies or funds held under any provision of the Municipal Retirement System shall remain invested or hereinafter be invested in the stocks, securities, or other obligations of any business entity which is a high cost lender or a predatory lender or which is an affiliate of any business entity which is a high cost lender or a predatory lender pursuant to Chapter 9-2400. Prohibition Against Predatory Lending Practices.

(b) No monies or funds held under any provision of the Municipal Retirement System shall remain invested or hereinafter be invested in the securities collateralized by any interest in loans originating or purchased by any business entity which is a high cost lender or a predatory lender or which is an affiliate of any business entity which is a high cost lender or a predatory lender pursuant to Chapter 9-2400. Prohibition Against Predatory Lending Practices.

(c) The divestiture required by this subsection shall be completed within six (6) months of receipt by the Board of Pensions and Retirement of notice from the Director of the Office of Housing and Community Development that a business entity is a high cost lender or a predatory lender or an affiliate of a high cost lender or a predatory lender. During the six (6) month period, the Board of Pensions and Retirement shall make regular reports to the City Council concerning the progress of divestiture. If, prior to expiration of the six (6) month time limit for divestiture, the Board determines that completion of divestiture within the six (6) month time limit will necessitate substantial losses to the Retirement System, then the Board shall request from City Council an extension of time within which to complete divestiture.