HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-25-RB-min Minutes of the October 25, 2018 Retirement Board meeting:
Present: Robert Cunha, Alan Fields, Frederick Weiss,Joseph Foley, Marguerite Oliva, and Jim Condon
Absent: Carolyn Kosnoff
NEW MEMBERS: (9) Michael Fleet, Laborer; Katherine Luczai, Dept. Asst.; Jillian Peura, SSI; Bradley
Carlson, Meghan Brenna, Kimberly Lagadinos, Amanda Bursztynsky, Madeline Levesque, LA's;
Michael DeLuca, Police Officer;
DEATHS: (2) Sandra Finn, School Dept., 9/26/18; Wallace Wesinger, Highway Laborer, 10/6/18
RETIREMENTS: Diane Gillis, Police Admin. Asst., 11/1/18; Charlotte Rodgers, Human Services
Director, 11/30/18
The Board accepted the 103118 Warrant and the October payroll. The September minutes were
reviewed and approved, as well as the cashbooks for August 2018.
Bob Cunha reviewed the October agenda with the Board members and staff. Michelle DeChristoforo's
request to purchase two (2)years of creditable service was approved by the Board members present.
A motion was made by Bob to approve the new funding schedule through 2024. It was seconded by
Fred Weiss, unanimously approved by Alan Fields and Joe Foley.
The Board members spoke briefly regarding the matter of renewing the contract for Meketa Investment
Group. The consensus was that all feel comfortable with the way Meketa has managed the fund for the
Retirement Board over the years. Bob made a motion to renew the Meketa contract,which was
seconded by Fred, and unanimously approved.
The Board voted on Angelo Gordon as the new Senior Private Debt manager. The motion was made by
Alan, seconded by Bob, and unanimously approved. A second motion was made by Alan to take
5,000,000.00 from the Loomis account to fund Angelo Gordon. Funding would be 1.5m the first year,
then 2.Om second year, and 1.5m in the third year. That motion was seconded by Bob, and unanimously
approved by Fred and Joe.
Francesco Daniele and David Gurtz presented the PRIM Board review. They began with a brief overview
of their mission. PRIM is a $73.813 investment fund that invests public employee pension benefits. The
main goal is to relieve the funding burden on the Massachusetts taxpayer. In the last 5 years alone, the
returns have contributed over$17.213 in pension funding. Some of the success stems from de-risking
the portfolio over recent years. PRIM feels the market is almost at its peak acceleration point, leading to
a slow down with the economy. One more interest rate hike could occur at the end of this year, and up
to three more in 2019. David mentioned our allocations are doing well. Our hedge funds allocation is
9%out of 13%within the Portfolio Completion Strategies. PRIT uses a direct investing approach, and all
their managed assets are 100%controlled in house to avoid paying management fees. The Real Estate
portfolio is comprised of 80% in the Core Fixed Income bracket strategy. They have$6.913 within this
portfolio,which is 9%of the PRIT Fund. There is a lot of exposure with investment properties, mainly in
the middle of the country with warehouses, and in the south with apartments and condominiums.
Michelle Joyeux and Rich Jacobson presented the Golub Capitol update. They gave a brief update on
how the firm is doing as a whole. Over$25B of capital is currently under their management. Golub is
primarily a middle market lending firm with private equity sponsorships. They deal with high credit
companies and manage over 1,200 accounts. Golub considers themselves the premier leading lender
out in the market. Rich was asked about defaults on loans. He explained the default rate was very low.
Out of the 1,200 loans mentioned, only 27 had defaulted. The recovery rate on those defaults was
around 65%. They concluded by informing us the firm is well protected and stable during these high
volume borrowing times in the US.
Henry Jaung and Thomas Dunleavy presented the Meketa update. The portfolio balance as of
September 30, 2018 was $173,108,224.00, up 4.9%for YTD. The US Markets remained strong, despite
some volatility. We remain overweight in US and Global Equities,which has been major contributor to
the portfolio's strong performance. We will continue this trend until advised otherwise. The US
markets are still moving in the proper direction and growth remains strong. Henry advised the Board
that the bear market in China is showing signs of increase. He suggests having Matthews Asia give some
insight to Meketa on this particular trend. In conclusion, Henry reminded us of one more potential rate
hike at the end of 2018, but stated it should not alter our portfolio's performance to close out the year.
Fossil Fuel exposure saw a slight uptick to 4.8%as of 9/30/2018.
Maggie Oliva recommended the purchase of a new scanner for the Retirement Office. This purchase will
enable the office to scan all correspondence and attach to members individual files already created by
Morgan Records and PTG. A motion was made by Bob, seconded by Joe, and unanimously approved for
purchase.
Bob Cunha motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:45 am,which was seconded by Joe Foley, and
unanimously approved.
The next Board meeting will be held on Tuesday November 27, 2018 at 8:00 AM in Cary Memorial
Library.
Loomis Sayles and Kayne Anderson Rudnick will attend.
Robert Cunha, Chairman Alan Fields, Appointed Member
ABSENT
Carolyn Kosnoff, Ex Officio Member Joseph Foley, Elected Member
Frederick Weiss, Appointed Member