(a) "investment manager" shall mean any person, other than an employee of the comptroller, or entity engaged by the common retirement fund to manage a part or all of an investment portfolio of the fund. "Manage" shall include, but is not limited to, the analysis of portfolio holdings, and the purchase, sale, and lending thereof. Any investment made by the fund pursuant to subdivision seven of section one hundred seventy-seven of this chapter shall be deemed to be the investment of the fund in such investment entity rather than in the assets of such investment entity.
(b) "placement agent or intermediary" shall mean any person or entity, including registered lobbyists, directly or indirectly engaged and compensated by an investment manager, other than an employee of the investment manager, to assist the investment manager in obtaining investments by the fund whether compensated on a flat fee, a contingent fee, or any other basis. Employees of an investment manager and its affiliates are excluded from this definition unless they are employed principally for the purpose of securing or influencing the decision to secure a particular investment transaction or investment by the fund.