HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-24-RB-min (2) Minutes of the January 24, 2019 Retirement Board meeting:
Present: Bob Cunha,Joe Foley,Alan Fields, Fred Weiss, Carolyn Kosnoff, Marguerite Oliva &Jim Condon
Absent: None
NEW MEMBERS: (9) Michael Guillemette, Edwin Martinez, Custodians; Sheila Page, Asst. Director of
Planning; Jarrod Sullivan, Equip.Operator; Hayato Tsurumaki, Recreation Supervisor; Lisa Aboyan,
Admin Assistant; Sharon Coffey, Land Use Assistant; Sean Dugan, Public Info Officer; Jaculin Courtney,
Account Assistant
RETIREMENTS: (2) Kathy Fox, Environmental Health Agent, 3/17/19;Paul Hartery, Custodian, 3/1/19
DEATHS: (1) Alan Campbell, 1/11/19, Firefighter
The Board accepted the 013119 Warrant and the January 2019 payroll. The December 2018 minutes
were reviewed and approved, as well as the cashbooks for November 2018.
Bob Cunha reviewed the January agenda with the Board members and staff. There was one (1) request
to buyback service. Kristen McGrath was hired back on 8/11/2011 as a non-benefited employee. She
became a full time employee on 8/29/2013. She is requesting to buyback her time from 2011 to 2013.
All her paperwork and documents for that time has been submitted to the Retirement Office. Bob
Cunha made a motion to approve this request,which was seconded by Joe Foley, and unanimously
approved by Fred Weiss and Alan Fields.
The investment transfer to Matthews and Wellington Enduring has been set up and will take place
February 1, 2019. It was noted the Vanguard balance has increased to$13,621,937.00
The Cost of Adjustment notice has been posted and the Board will discuss at the February 28, 2019
meeting. COLA's do not take effect on pension payments until July.
Joe Foley asked the Board for a brief update on the Joseph O'Leary matter. The case continues to be
held up in the court system. Ajoint motion for an extension has been granted for Mr. O'Leary and
PERAC to February 14, 2019. Our office will update Board members as the process moves forward.
The Retirement Board office will need an updated Investment Policy Statement from Meketa.
There will be a new credit card usage policy put into place from the Comptroller's Office.
Meghan Guardino,formerly employed with the school department, requested a refund of her account
due to a financial hardship from the Federal Government Shutdown. PERAC has not set the Interest rate
for 2019 as of 1/24/19. Once the rate is set, our office would like to move forward and refund Ms.
Guardino's account. We will update the Board Agenda once processed and provide new figures for the
month. This should take place prior to January 30, 2019.
Per PERAC,the yearly Benefit Verification Affidavits should be spot checked with older ones to verify
signatures. They recommend we verify around 5%of the forms annually.
Ryan Bugler has submitted a request to the Town for the purchase of a new wheelchair. Bob is on an
oversight board in town and they will look into this request. Anne Graglia-Kostos in the Town Manager's
Office is aware of this request.
Steve McLennan and Tom Dunleavy presented the Meketa update. Steve began with a brief update on
the World Markets fourth quarter performance. 83% of those markets finished in negative territory.
JPM Global and Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate were the only two out of twelve to finish up 1.6%and
2/1% respectively. There was nowhere to hide during that quarter to close out the year.
The portfolio balance as of December 31, 2018 was$157,850,369.00, down 3.8%for the year. Domestic
Equities took a big hit in the last quarter, as did the International and Global Asset classes. Our 3, 5, &
10 year numbers are all positive for overall net performance. Wellington Enduring Assets managed to
survive the recent market downturn by posting a -0.5% loss for the year.
Steve and Tom mentioned the possibility of an RFP search for a Non-U.S. Strategy manager for the fund.
Matthews,TT International, and Driehaus Capitol were the ones that stood out as candidates. Meketa
provided the opinion of Driehaus being a solid candidate for our portfolio. This was only a discussion of
what we might consider doing into 2019. Meketa will provide more information in the coming months.
Jeff Kusmierz and Sarah Duncan presented the RhumbLine update. They spoke briefly about a few staff
additions and organizational changes within Rhumbline. She mentioned that the firm has surpassed
$50.3 Billion in assets under management. They currently manage 101 Public Funds with 243 accounts
totaling$35.2 Billion. She highlighted some of their clients in the portfolio. After the recent market
downfall,Jeff mentioned the portfolio is up 5.8% in January. Considering it was down 13.81% in the 4th
quarter,that was one high note. Since our inception, we are up 10.04%for this strategy. He highlighted
our initial and two additional contributions totaling$12,584,563.00 has new market value of
$19,534,054.00 as of December 31, 2018. Jeff then referenced our best and worst holdings over the
past twelve months. He did state the best sector for 2018 was Health Care,while the worsts were
Energy and Materials.
Fossil Fuel exposure is approximately 4.6%, slightly down for the year. Within this exposure, around
1.5%of the total is invested in the Carbon Underground 200 Companies.
Bob Cunha motioned to adjourn the meeting at 9:15 am,which was seconded by Joe, and unanimously
approved.
The next Retirement Board meeting will be held on February 28, 2019 at 8:00 am in Cary Memorial
Library. Fidelity and Acadian will be invited to attend.
Robert Cunha, Chairman Alan Fields, Appointed Member
Carolyn Kosnoff, Ex Officio Member Joseph Foley, Elected Member
Frederick Weiss, Appointed Member