2023-08-24-RB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes of the August 24, 2023 Retirement Board meeting: Present: Robert Cunha, Joseph Foley, Alan Fields, Fred Weiss, Carolyn Kosnoff, Michelle Malone and Jim Condon Absent: None The Lexington Retirement Board met remotely through Zoom tele-conferencing. The Town Clerks Office posted the meeting, which included the information for any interested party to join the call. Robert Cunha, Joseph Foley, Alan Fields, Frederick Weiss, Carolyn Kosnoff, James Condon and Michelle Malone were present for this meeting. Robert Cunha called the meeting to order at 8:30 am. The Board accepted the 083123 Warrant and the August payroll. The July minutes were reviewed and approved. The financials were not available at the time of meeting. Robert Cunha reviewed the August agenda with all Board members and staff in attendance. The Board then took a moment to address and reflect on the recent passing of long time Board Administrator, Marguerite Oliva. Maggie worked for the Town of Lexington for more than 27 years and recently retired back in January 2023. It was noted a distribution of $50,966.00 from Angelo Gordon was received on 07/31/2023. Also, a Golub Fund 14 distribution for $127,499.00 and a Golub Fund 9 distribution for $130,535.00 were received on 07/31/2023 and 08/17/2023. Stephen MacLellan and Henry Juang presented the Meketa update at 8:40 am. The portfolio balance as of July 31, 2023 was $214,748,069.00, up $7.4m. This will put the portfolio up 11.8% for the year. The markets are still in recovery mode, and the US Equity portfolio continues to lead the charge. We continue to have strong success in the domestic equity market. It is up 23.5% for this year. Despite interest rate hikes, fears of a recession are on the decline as of this meeting. The Russell 3000, Fidelity Contrafund and Rhumbline are all performing well this year, each over 20% YTD. International equities are average, yet showing some improvement over the past month. Matthews was up 6.3% last month and now at 5% for the YTD. Driehaus posted a 4.4% for the month of July, and is now 10.6% YTD. The overall view with China is still a bit sour. The economy continues to be less robust than analysts expected. There is no timetable for a rebound in China. Manufacturing companies overseas, such as Nike and Footlocker, are seeing major declines in production and shipping. Henry and Stephen then mentioned a search for private debt management should take place soon. Robert Cunha made a motion for the RFP search by Meketa, which was seconded by Joseph Foley, and unanimously approved by Carolyn Kosnoff, Fred Weiss, and Alan Fields. Meketa will update the Board on the process. They did provide an updated Pacing Study within their presentation. Will Hickey and Rich Thies presented the Driehaus review at 9:05 am. They began by mentioning Driehaus is outperforming the benchmark. On a relative basis, India, Mexico, Technology and Utilities are the strong contributors to the strategy. Meanwhile, China, Communications, and Consumer Discretionary are the key detractors to the fund. Big value stock companies remain low on investors radar at this time. Consumer and corporate spending is extremely low. Folks overseas are going out and spending, just not a great deal. An example is the restaurant industry. People are dining, but are cutting back on the amount being spent at establishments. The Chinese government is starting to ease up on their attacks on businesses, which was not good for consumer confidence. Rich noted that India is