2019-12-20-RB-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Minutes of the December 20, 2019 Retirement Board meeting: Present: Joe Foley, Carolyn Kosnoff,Alan Fields, Fred Weiss, Marguerite Oliva, and Jim Condon Absent: Bob Cunha NEW MEMBERS: (5) Lawrence Garden, Firefighter/EMT; James Barry III, Andrew Gale, Police Officers;Nicole LeBlanc, Instr. Asst.; Cheryl Draper,Admin Asst. RETIREMENTS: (2) William Gendron, Custodian, 12/6/19; Josephine Taylor, SIA, 12/6/19 DEATHS: (1) Gaynor Fields, 11/20/19, spouse of retiree Francis Fields The Board accepted the 123119 Warrant and the December payroll. The November minutes were reviewed and approved, as well as the cashbooks for October 2019. Joseph Foley reviewed the December agenda with the Board members and staff in attendance. It was noted there were two distributions from Monroe Capitol totaling$264,438.00. There was also a White Oak distribution for$72,992.00. Cheryl Kelleher's request to buyback service was approved. Joe made a motion to approve the buyback of ten (10) years and ten (10) months of service,which was seconded by Alan Fields, and unanimously approved by Fred Weiss. Worcester County Regional Retirement will take full liability upon repayment by Cheryl Kelleher. Ryan Bugler situation is still pending. There has been no communication from DALA as to where the appeal process stands. Joseph O'Leary is still in the appeal process. Michael Sacco will provide an update on this matter as it develops. Henry Jaung and Tom Dunleavy presented the Meketa review. The portfolio balance as of November 30, 2019 was$180,450,534.00, up 1.4%from October. The YTD performance is up 16.3%. This is one of the best performances for the portfolio in the last 10 years. Our position in the equity and private debt markets were a major factor. Domestic equity has done extremely well. Fidelity Contrafund has been performing outstanding. KAR has been a part of our success as well. Tiger and Wellington within our International equity sector took some minor hits as of late. Nothing to get concerned about at this stage. Overall,the portfolio will remain as is heading into 2020. The Equities sector should continue to do well in 2020. Domestic equity will remain hot and hopefully International will pick up to begin the 1St quarter. The banking industry will be bullish during the US Elections, and the Federal Reserve will most likely keep interest rates down. Adam Tozlowski presented the Board with information regarding BlackRock Global Renewable Power Fund. BlackRock is a private US founded management company with over$6.9 trillion in managed assets. Infrastructure is a fairly new asset class in the United States. The infrastructure in our country is a problem, and with the government facing financial deficits for funding, it is likely that private capital will be called upon more frequently. This should lead to more investing opportunities. The assets are structured to provide stable, predictable, and long term cash flows to its investors. There would be little