HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-04-22-RB-minMinutes of the April 22, 2015 Retirement Board Meeting
Present: Robert Cunha, Joe Foley, Alan Fields, Rob Addelson, Fred Weiss, Marguerite Oliva and Karen
Marchant
Bob Cunha called the meeting to order at 8:00 AM.
NEW MEMBERS: None
RETIREMENTS: Peter Karalexis, CAD Engineer, 5/30/15; Linda Sullivan, Library Tech, 6/29/15;
Peggy Bateson, Head of Circulation, 6/29/15
DECEASED: Shirley Farias, Aide, 411117; Margery Howard, Ref. Librarian, 4/11/15
The Board accepted and signed the 043015 Warrant and April payroll. The March 2015 minutes were
reviewed and approved as well as the cashbooks for February 2015.
The Board reviewed the medical panel reports for Rodney Blake. All three reports were answered in the
affirmative that he can no longer perform the essential duties of his position. A motion was made by Bob,
seconded by Fred and voted unanimously to grant the accidental disability retirement.
There was a $381,158.96 distribution from Beacon and a $98,312 distribution from Monroe as well as the
Plan Expense Reimbursement from Fidelity for $11,133.10. It was agreed to leave the funds in cash to
help cover expected shortfalls.
The fourth quarter FY' 15 Town appropriation will be wired to State Street on April 27, 2015.
There was a discussion of the FY' 16 COLA. Town Meeting voted to approve an increase in the base to
$13,000 on March 30, 2015. Bob explained the Board could vote to not grant a COLA, grant the CPI
increase of 1.7% or vote to grant 3% using $13,000 as the base. A motion was made by Joe to grant 3%
on the $13,000 base, seconded by Bob and voted unanimously to grant the COLA.
The Vanguard balance for the OPEB funds is $5,828,262 for the quarter ending March 31, 2015.
Ryan Bugler will be re- evaluated by PERAC.
The Board discussed the step increase for Karen. It was voted to grant the step. The Board decided to
discuss Karen's COLA increase at a later date as the Town has not settled on the amount to be paid to
employees for FY' 16.
There was a referendum passed at Town Meeting regarding fossil fuel divestiture. Bob made a
presentation on behalf of the Board. Since most of the Board's investments are in mutual funds, it was
noted how difficult it would be to divest. The Board will wait to see if there is any directive from the
State.
Paperwork for investment in Golub and White Oak has been sent to PERAC. Once approved, Loomis
and Wellington Opportunistic will be used for funding. The Board agreed to invest $4m for each.
Scott Brymer and Keith Wosneski were present for the Acadian annual review. The discussion began with
the organizational overview, investment philosophy and research process. The market value for the All
Cap Fund is $227,932,510 and Lexington Retirement's value is $3,070,184. The report shows the
portfolio lagged behind the benchmark of MSCI EAFE through March 2015 but has increased in April.
The detractors were exposure in Canada and Brazil and the stock selection in Sweden. Stock selection in
Ireland and France have helped the portfolio. The largest holdings in Acadian All Cap Fund are in small
and medium /small holdings. Cash at the end of March was .6, usually between .3 and .7.
Brian Kraus presented the Hartford Capital Appreciation Fund review. Lexington's market value is
$17,004,553. Discussed were the objectives, philosophy and approach. Wellington is the sub advisor on
all Hartford mutual funds. Saul Pannell still manages 50% of the fund. The fund is overseen by multi
managers. Kent Stahl and Gregg Thomas are the directors for strategy selection and oversight. There are
ten others who deal with underlying strategies. The Russell 3000 is used as the index and as of 3/31 the
fund was overweight in information technology, health care and consumer discretionary and
underweighted in energy, telecommunication services, utilities, consumer staples and financials.
Henry Jaung from Meketa was present. The 3131115 market value increased from $15.9m to $16m. At
the Board's request Henry presented a report on the historical correlation for William Blair as compared
to Wellington Opportunistic. Despite the similar mandate, Meketa believes investing with William Blair
will provide diversification benefits. The minimum investment amount is $5m.
A motion was made by Alan, seconded by Fred and accepted unanimously to hire William Blair and use
$Sin from Wellington Opportunistic for the funding. This will help to reduce the exposure to Wellington
strategies.
The Board was reminded of Memo #10 regarding Board member training for 2nd qtr. 2015.
Loomis and RhumbLine will be invited to the next meeting for their annual reviews.
A motion was made, seconded and approved unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:40.
The next meeting will be held May 28, 2015, 8:00 AM at Cary Memorial Library.
Robert Cunha, Chairman Alan Fields, Appointed Member
Robert Addelson, Ex Officio Member Joseph Foley, Elected Member
Frederick Weiss, Appointed Member