HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-02-18-RB-min RECEIVED
022 21 l ir, 157 Iliium
Minutes of the February 18, 2022 Retirement Board meeting: I OWN CLERK
Present: Robert Cunha,Joseph Foley, Alan Fields, Fred Weiss, Carolyn Kosnoff, Marguerite Olive and Jim
Condon LEXINGTON
Absent: None
The Lexington Retirement Board met remotely through Zoom tele-conferencing during the
Covid-19 Pandemic. The Town Clerks Office posted the meeting, which included the
information for any interested party to join the call. All Board members were present for this
meeting. Chairman Robert Cunha called the meeting to order at 8:30 am.
The Board accepted the 022822 Warrant and the February payroll. The January minutes and
December financials were reviewed and approved.
Robert Cunha reviewed the February agenda will all Board members and staff in attendance. It
was noted a Vanguard wire purchase from the Town of Lexington was made for$1,697,986.00.
Three (3) distributions were received by the system. Golub 9 distribution of$96,216.00 and
Golub 14 distribution of$50,282.00 were both received on February 9, 2022. A distribution for
$296,737.00 from Monroe was received on January 28, 2022. There was a Fidelity Plan expense
reimbursement for the 4t" Qtr. 2021 in the amount of$20,604.86 on January 27, 2022.
The Board discussed and voted on the acceptance of a new COLA base for retirees. The vote
was to increase the COLA base from $14,000.00 to $15,000.00. Joseph Foley made a motion to
increase the COLA base to $15,000.00, which was seconded by Fred Weiss, and unanimously
approved by Carolyn Kosnoff and Robert Cunha. Board member Alan Fields was not present at
the time of this vote. This approval will be presented at the next Select Board meeting in
Lexington. The increase will allow retirees to receive 3% of the first $15,000.00 on their
pension payments for a COLA. The maximum COLA allowance would be $37.50 per month/per
retiree.
Robert Magarian passed away on January 8, 2022. A notice of Claim and Demand for payment
was sent to Mr. Magarian's attorney on February 11, 2022. The Retirement Office has not
received any updates as of this Board meeting.
There has been no update on the Joseph O'Leary matter. There is an SJC notice of docket entry.
The Law Offices of Michael Sacco will report back to us on any new information.
Steven MacLellan presented the Meketa update at 8:45 am. The portfolio balance as of January
31, 2022 was $219,232,380.00, down $9.4m from December 2021. The markets continue to
remain unstable in 2022. Inflation and interest rates are among the issues at hand, as well as
the potential conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The ongoing Global Pandemic is on the
downward trend, which should produce growth in various market sectors. January was
relatively tough in all sectors of our portfolio. Domestic equities took the hardest hit, while
Global equities were only down slightly in the negative. Our cash holding sector is now at
$8.1m due to the Real Estate transaction from last month.
Gloria Hazard was announced as the replacement for Thomas Dunleavy. Gloria has been with
Meketa for several years, and has been involved with the Lexington Retirement System for
some time. The Board welcomes her and wishes her well. Meketa wrapped up the
presentation to the Board at 9:05 am.
Ken Solano, Tim Casaletto, Maria Cherkasova, and Scott Chandler contributed to the Wellington
Management review at 9:10 am. Ken began with a brief update on personnel changes at the
firm. He then provided some factual data within the portfolio. Currently, Wellington has 2.4b
in AUM. They have roughly 2,465 clients spread throughout 62 countries. The investment
objective for Wellington is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns over time by investing in
structurally advantaged infrastructure businesses. They seek returns from both capital
appreciation and dividend yield, with a preference for growth over income. Focus is on an
efficient trade-off between risk and reward; and they target capital preservation and
outperformance during market downturns. Wellington's outlook going forward is to maintain
and acquire more electric utilities for their portfolio. New construction of electrical grids and
government support will be a main driver. The review wrapped up at 9:40.
Steve MacLellan mentioned the Wellington Enduring component of the portfolio is doing what
is should. It is providing enough exposure to provide decent returns for the portfolio. As far as
the Wellington Opportunistic portfolio goes, Steve and the Board members are slightly
disappointed in the return. The feeling is the strategy is stale. The same components are in
place and nothing has really changed over time. Steve advised the Board he will monitor the
Opportunistic portion closer and report back.
Robert Cunha motioned to adjourn the meeting at 10:10 am, which was seconded by Joseph
Foley, and unanimously approved by Carolyn Kosnoff, Alan Fields, and Fred Weiss.
The next Retirement Board meeting will be held via Zoom on Thursday, March 24, 2022 at 8:30
am. Acadian and RhumbLine will present.
....... .............. ... ........... ... ........... ............ ........
Robert Cunha, Chairman Alan Fields, Appointed Member
.......... ............ ............ .......................I .................... ... ............ ............ ............ ...
Carolyn Kosnoff, Ex Officio Member Joseph Foley, Elected Member
........... ............. ............. ............. ............. .......................
Frederick Weiss, Appointed Member