HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-24-RB-min (3) Minutes of the January 24, 2019 Retirement Board meeting:
Present: Bob Cunha, Joe Foley, Alan Fields, Fred Weiss, Carolyn Kosnoff, Marguerite Oliva &
Jim Condon
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. A joint 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, 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