SONOMA COUNTY EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION B O A R D M I N U T E S

Transcription

1 B O A R D M I N U T E S Thursday, 8:37 a.m. Presiding: Present: Absent: Chair Brian Williams presided. Trustees Donna Beels, Dianne Edwards, Michael Gossman, Greg Jahn (arriving at 8:44 a.m.), John Pels, David Sundstrom, David Rabbitt (arriving at 8:41 a.m.) and Bob Williamson, Retirement Administrator Julie Wyne, Assistant Retirement Administrator Kelly Jenkins, Senior Investment Officer Jim Failor, Investment Analyst II Stephen Marsh, Deputy County Counsel IV Jeff Berk, Legal Counsel Neil Baker, Benefits Coordinator Elizabeth Anderson, Sr. Benefits Specialist Cassandra Stinson, Accounting Manager Cathy Austin, Michael Wright of the Results Group, and Administrative Aide Phyllis Reason. Trustees Bill Adams. I. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Service Retirements Name Effective Date Department Carol Norick Arthur Lopez Alex Sebastian Michael Magill Paul Martinez Marion Angiuli Carlos Claros Michael Scott Baker Christina Barasch Kathryn Snyder 09/12/ /16/ /16/ /22/ /23/ /30/ /30/ /05/ /09/ /12/2014 Deferred Human Services T&PW Probation Deferred Human Resources Human Services Health Services Health Services Deferred Human Services Walter Atkin, Jr. 10/14/2014 Thomas Barber 10/14/2014 Health Services Barry Henke 10/14/2014 Water Agency William Mullan 10/14/2014 Public Defender Total = 14 B. Active/Deferred/Transfer Death None Page 1 of 9

2 C. COLA Policy and Board Communications Policy review with staff recommendation to postpone any modification of these policies until after the Strategic Plan has been adopted. Motion was made by Trustee Sundstrom, seconded by Trustee Beels to approve the Consent Calendar, Items A through C. The motion carried With voting as follows: on II. MINUTES APPROVAL Approval of September 18, 2014 Retirement Board Meeting Minutes. Motion was made by Trustee Edwards, seconded by Trustee Sundstrom to approve the September 18, 2014 Retirement Board Meeting Minutes. The motion carried With voting as follows: on III. REGULAR CALENDAR A. Discuss and adopt SCERA Values. Retirement Administrator Julie Wyne reviewed two draft versions of the SCERA Values with the Board, one with the acronym TEAM SCERA and the other with the acronym SCERA. The Board preferred the SCERA acronym version of the Values. Ms. Wyne informed the Board that staff will refine the Strategic Plan and develop the 2015 Business Plan at their offsite meeting on October 28. Motion was made by Trustee Sundstrom, seconded by Trustee Gossman to adopt the SCERA Values. The motion carried With voting as follows: Page 2 of 9

3 on B. SACRS 2015 Legislative Proposals. Consider whether to support the legislative proposals from CERL Systems and the SACRS Board of Directors for SACRS sponsorship and instruct our Voting Delegate to vote accordingly at the November SACRS Conference. Ms. Wyne informed the Board that there are two legislative proposals to be considered for SACRS sponsorship at the November SACRS Conference business meeting and that our Board needed to instruct our voting delegate on whether to support, oppose or abstain from voting. The first legislative proposal is a technical correction regarding a service retirement pending a disability retirement determination. Ms. Wyne explained there is potential confusion in the law regarding the ability to change a service retirement option when a member is later granted a disability retirement and this legislative proposal would clarify the language. The second legislative proposal is a reorganization of the CERL into a more user friendly document. While this effort is going to require a lot of work, it is a worthy undertaking as the CERL is a difficult body of law to comprehend, largely due to its organization. Ms. Wyne informed the Board that there will not be any language changes to any of the CERL provisions. Ms. Wyne is on the SACRS sub-committee that will be tasked with the reorganization and cross reference table and supports the need to reorganize. Legal Counsel Neil Baker commented that there is always some risk of errors or missed information but agreed that the reorganization is a good idea. The Board asked how much work would be required of SCERA to change its policies and cross reference legal opinions to refer to the new code sections. Ms. Wyne replied that it will require some effort but it will not be an overwhelming amount. Motion was made by Trustee Beels, seconded by Trustee Sundstrom to direct the SCERA voting delegate to support the SACRS 2015 Legislative Proposals for SACRS sponsorship. The motion carried With voting as follows: Page 3 of 9

4 on C. Investment Performance Summary Monthly Update Mr. Failor discussed the September 2014 performance of the Plan s portfolio. He noted that the equity markets were down during the month primarily on heightened fears regarding global economic growth, most notably in Europe. As a result of the disappointing September returns we now have flat-to-negative quarterly equity returns. The Russell 3000 Index was down 2.1% in September and is flat for the third quarter while the MSCI EAFE (developed non-us markets) Index was down 3.8% for the month and down 5.9% for the quarter. Among the market concerns discussed it was noted that the Eurozone s feeble recovery could fall into outright recession. Germany, which is the largest and strongest economy in the Eurozone, experienced a negative quarter of GDP growth and may be heading for a second. Other countries were also discussed. The economies of the US and the UK are the strongest among the developed economies. The emerging economies are also facing challenges with stagnant economies in Russia and Brazil, commodity prices waning which is disproportionately hurting the developing economies, and concerns about possible property and credit bubbles in China. Notable among the decline in commodities is crude oil which declined from $96 to $91 per barrel through September, as measured by West Texas Intermediate Crude, and down further to $82 per barrel as of mid-october. In fixed income, yields on most spread sectors widened versus Treasuries during the month while interest rates rose in parallel across the yield curve. In this environment the Plan s portfolio returned -1.9% for September which was 21 basis points ahead of the target policy return. Benchmark-relative outperforming managers included Hexavest, Jacobs Levy, Systematic and the Templeton Non-US Equity account while benchmark-trailing managers included the PIMCO Unconstrained Bond account and the Templeton Global Equity account. The most significant reasons for the benchmark-relative performance of these managers were discussed. Year-to-date the Plan is now up 4.3% and trailing its target policy by 65 basis points. Over 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 years the Plan has returned 10.4%, 15.2%, 11.0%, 7.4%, and 8.5%, respectively. As of September 30 th Parametric Clifton was overlaying $69 million of Plan-level cash and bringing the Plan s asset allocation close to its target policy weights. The Plan ended the month with assets approximating $2,351 million. It was also noted that the equity markets have declined further through the first half of October as fears regarding global growth continued. As a result, the Plan is close to triggering both a physical rebalancing and a derivatives rebalancing as of mid-october. D. Fiduciary Liability Insurance Coverage Renewal. Discuss premium options for renewal through July 2015, November 2015 or July 2016 and determine renewal period. Page 4 of 9

5 Assistant Retirement Administrator Kelly Jenkins reported to the Board that the Fiduciary Liability Insurance is due for renewal. There are three options for renewing the policy. The policy can be renewed through July 2015, November 2015 or July Mr. Jenkins explained that the insurance carrier was seeking to bring all of their clients onto a July renewal period, and was offering SCERA a static premium for a longer term if we agreed to switch from November to July. After discussion the Board agreed that the coverage period until July 2016 was desirable. Mr. Jenkins also informed the Board that the Waiver of Recourse, which is paid by each Trustee and all SCERA Managers, is also due in the total amount of $100. The amounts payable to Alliant are $6.67 for each Trustee and $6.66 for each SCERA Manager and are due to Phyllis Reason by the November Board date. Motion was made by Trustee Gossman, seconded by Trustee Williamson to change the Fiduciary Liability coverage period to July The motion carried With voting as follows: on E. Discuss carpet replacement and authorize procurement of services. Ms. Wyne reported that the carpet is bubbling throughout the building which could become a safety issue. An inspection to determine the problem was completed but the results were inconclusive. It was noted certain areas are considered high traffic areas which could cause the bubbling as the carpet becomes stretched. There is a possibility there is excess moisture in the concrete slab under the building which may be the cause. The estimate received to conduct procurement and replace the carpet for the entire building, aside from the EFS rented area (which has new carpet), is approximately $200,000. Before replacing the carpet, Ms. Wyne is recommending a building engineer inspect the concrete slab moisture condition to determine if that could be a cause of the carpet bubbling. After discussion the Board directed Ms. Wyne to arrange an inspection and report back to the Board with the findings. No vote was taken. F. Disability Committee Report. The Disability Committee will provide a report on the open session discussion items from its meeting of. Page 5 of 9

6 Discuss whether a staff summary report is needed in addition to the medical advisor report. Trustee Edwards reported after discussion the Disability Committee decided to continue the existing practice of receiving reports from the medical advisor and forego a staff summary report. G. Trustee/ Staff Training & Conferences. a. UBS 2014 Global Real Estate US Client Advisory Council to be held October 6 to 7, 2014 at the Grand Hyatt Denver Hotel in Denver, CO. Trustee Brian Williams attended and will provide a report. Trustee Williams reported that UBS did a great job. Trustee Williams attended property tours that included an explanation of how property is selected which provided an understanding of why returns are strong. b. Due Diligence trip to Boston, MA from October 21 to 23 to meet with State Street, GMO and Arrowstreet. Please notify Phyllis Reason if you plan to attend. c. GMO 2014 Fall Conference to be held October 28 to 29 or November 4 to 5, 2014 at GMO State Room and Boston Harbor Hotel. Please notify Phyllis Reason if you plan to attend. d. SACRS 2014 Fall Conference to be held November 11 to 14, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa, Monterey, CA. Please notify Phyllis Reason if you plan to attend. e. Opal Financial Group Alternative Investing Summit to be held December 7 to 9, 2014 in Dana Point, CA. Please notify Phyllis Reason if you plan to attend. f. CALAPRS Advanced Principles of Pension Management for Trustees to be held January 28 to 30, 2014 at UCLA. Applications due December 15, Please notify Phyllis Reason if you plan to attend. Ms. Wyne reminded the Trustees to apply for this course by December 15, g. CALAPRS Trustee s Roundtable to be held February 7, 2015 at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel Burbank, CA. Please notify Phyllis Reason if you plan to attend. Trustee Gossman is planning to attend and is chairing this Roundtable. Trustee Adams will not be able to attend and Trustee Gossman is Page 6 of 9

7 H. Communications. requesting another Trustee to assist him as co-chair. Ms. Wyne indicated she would assist him in creating the agenda and securing speakers. h. CALAPRS General Assembly to be held March 7 to 10, 2015 at the Monterey Marriott. Please notify Phyllis Reason if you plan to attend. SACRS Memo to Systems on Ad Hoc Ms. Wyne reported that the SACRS Ad Hoc Committee on Public Relations will provide a brief presentation at the November SACRS meeting relating to PR efforts. I. General Discussion Matters. Opportunity to advise Board of new matters and for Board members to ask questions for clarification, provide information to staff, request staff to report back on a matter or to direct staff to place a matter on a subsequent agenda. Ms. Wyne reminded the Trustees to provide their input for the 2015 meeting schedule and structure. IV. PUBLIC COMMENT Opportunity for public comment on non-agenda items within the jurisdiction of the Retirement Board. V. EXECUTIVE SESSION AND OPEN SESSION REPORT 9:24 to 9:27 a.m. A. Executive Session. Meeting closed pursuant to Government Code section 54957(b) to consider the employment status and evaluation of performance of a SCERA member as concerns eligibility for a disability retirement. Disability Committee: Committee Chair will provide the recommendations from the Disability Committee Meeting held. ERIC HERGENREDER, filed 03/01/12 for a service connected disability. Amended application to request a non-service connected disability on 04/14/14. Motion was made by Trustee Gossman, seconded by Trustee Williamson to grant a non-service connected disability on 04/14/14. The motion carried With voting as follows: Page 7 of 9

8 on B. Report on Executive Session in Open Session. County Counsel Jeff Berk reported the Board voted unanimously to adopt the Committee s recommendation adopting the Hearing Officer s decision to grant Mr. Hergenreder a non-service connected disability retirement. VI. NEXT MEETINGS ADMINISTRATIVE/BENEFITS COMMITTEE: AUDIT COMMITTEE: DISABILITY COMMITTEE: INVESTMENT COMMITTEE: RETIREMENT BOARD: Thursday, January 16, 2015 at approximately noon (immediately following the Board meeting) in the SCERA Board Room located at 433 Aviation Boulevard, Suite 100 in Santa Rosa, CA. Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. in the SCERA Board Room located at 433 Aviation Boulevard, Suite 100, Santa Rosa, CA. The presentation scheduled for this meeting include a review of SCERA Financial Audit results for the year ended December 31, Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at approximately 11:00 a.m. (immediately following the Investment Committee Meeting) in the SCERA Board Room located at 433 Aviation Boulevard, Suite 100 in Santa Rosa, CA. Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. in the SCERA Board Room located at 433 Aviation Boulevard, Suite 100, Santa Rosa, CA. The presentations scheduled for this meeting include Arrowstreet. Thursday, November 20, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. Regular monthly Retirement Board meeting in the SCERA Board Room located at 433 Aviation Boulevard, Suite 100, in Santa Rosa, CA. Page 8 of 9

9 VII. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:28 a.m. BRIAN WILLIAMS, CHAIR Page 9 of 9