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06/16/1997 TRUSTEES OF THE EMPLOYEES' PENSION FUND MEETING June 16, 1997 The City Commission of the City of Clearwater, meeting as the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Pension Fund, met in regular session at City Hall, Monday, June 16, 1997 at 9:17 A.M., with the following members present: Rita Garvey Chairperson J. B. Johnson Trustee Robert Clark Trustee Ed Hooper Trustee Karen Seel Trustee Kathy S. Rice Interim City Manager Pamela K. Akin City Attorney Cynthia E. Goudeau City Clerk ITEM #2 - Minutes: Trustee Clark moved to approve the minutes of the June 2, 1997, meeting. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #3 - Amendment to Investment Management Agreement with Alliance Capital Management, L.P. which lowers the investment management fee schedule for the City of Clearwater Employees’ Pension Plan Earlier this year two members of the Pension Investment Committee attended the Callan Investment Institute. Based upon knowledge they learned, the committee negotiated with Alliance Capital Management, L.P. to lower their investment management fee. Currently the fee is .40% for the first $25 million and .35% for all amounts over $25 million. The new fee will be .20% for all amounts. Using the actual number for the last 12 months, the new fee will result in a savings of $102,000. In response to questions, Steve Moskun, Cash & Investment Manager, indicated that while the 3.05% return generated by this manager last year was one of the City’s smallest returns, all fixed income programs are currently poor performers. He also indicated staff’s intent had been to negotiate a lower fee for the manager adopting a passive style. However, Alliance agreed to the lower fee while maintaining an active style. An overview of the Pension Fund investment mix and various managers was requested. This will be done at a future meeting. Trustee Seel moved to approve the amendment to the Investment Management Agreement with Alliance Capital Management, L.P. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #4 - Authorize staff search for “core fixed income” style manager for Employees Pension Fund; authorize Callan & Associates to assist with search; authorize cost of search, including staff travel of approx. $3,500 to be paid from pension fund For the calendar year ending December 31, 1996, the Employees Pension Plan had a rate of return of 14.8%. At March 30, 1997, the plan had investments with a market value of $300.1 million. This amount is evenly split between equity and fixed income on a cost basis. Market Values by Manager in Millions are: Ark - 26.4; Aeltus - 51.6; Denver - 47.6; Hanson - 50.2; Eickhoff - 59.1; Shields/Alliance - 60.9; and Pooled Cash - 4.3. Last year at this time the trustees approved the addition of a “value” equity manager to diversify the equity portion of the investments. The plan currently has four equity managers. The plan has two fixed income managers each with a different investment style, Alliance Capital Markets (core) and Eickhoff, Piper & Willoughby (passive treasury and insurance contracts). The City contracts with Callan & Associates to provide performance measurement and to provide information on investment managers. The Investment Committee unanimously recommends an additional “core fixed income” style manager be added to better diversify the fixed income investments. The committee is made up of the City Manager, Finance Director, Assistant Finance Director, Finance Controller, Risk Manager, Senior Accountant and Cash & Investments Manager. Callan’s fee for the search will be $20,000. This fee will be paid by directing investment trades through their broker and will not be an additional direct expense of the plan. The committee will come back to the Trustees in late summer or early fall with the results of the search for approval. By adding an additional “core fixed income” manager the investment fee will increase by an estimated $12,500 per year. The cost of committee member travel to investigate/research the top ranked firm(s) is estimated at $3,500. The actual amount will be affected by the location of the investment manager(s) and the number that needs to be researched. In response to a question, Mr. Moskun indicated most of the funds invested by the new manager will come from those in the fixed category. However, some will come from the equity category as the Pension Fund can only have a maximum of 50% of its investments in the equity sector. A question was raised regarding the increase in fees to the Pension Fund if the money for the new manager is being taken from an existing one. Mr. Moskun indicated the fee for the first $25 million for the new manager is higher. Discussion ensued regarding the need for a new manager and whether the current rate of return on fixed investments is acceptable. Staff indicated as the Pension Fund grows there is a need to diversify and the current return on fixed investments is acceptable. In response to questions, it was indicated the amount of funds handled by each manager will be rebalanced. It was also reported that Callan & Associates, while assisting with the search, will have no input into the manager’s investment decisions. Trustee Johnson moved to authorize staff to search for a “core fixed income” style manager for the Employees Pension Fund, for Callan & Associates to assist with this search, and for the cost of the search, including staff travel of approximately $3,500 to be paid from the pension fund. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #5 - Accept Actuary’s Report for Employees’ Pension Plan for plan year beginning 1/1/97 which requires city contribution of at least 7% (est. $3,146,874) of compensation of all employees participating in the plan and an additional contribution (est. $338,526), representing the difference between the Florida Statutes required contribution of $3,485,400 and the City’s estimated contribution per above, to be deducted from existing credit balance of the plan (currently, $3,503,365) The actuarial valuation and report as of January 1, 1997 calls for a total required contribution of $7,081,828. Employees contribute 8% of salary anticipated to be $3,596,428. The difference to be contributed by the city of $3,485,400 is a decrease of $1,474,844 from last year. This decrease is primarily due to excellent investment performance in 1995 (23.36%) and 1996 (14.80%). The funded status of accumulated plan benefits increased from 140% in 1996 to 151% in 1997. Since the City uses a smoothing approach to asset valuation, the difference between the actual return for each year and the assumed rate of 7% is spread over 5 years. Based upon this method, the actuarial rate of return for 1996 was 11.54% and $33,766,507 of existing investments are not recognized in determining the 1997 funding requirement. Having a credit balance is not a normal occurrence in a pension plan. The pension fund credit balance was first established in 1991 when actual contributions were in excess of those determined to be required. This occurs when the Florida Statute required contribution is less than the ordinance required contribution. The credit balance continued to increase through 1994 due to excess contributions and interest earnings on the credit balance. In 1995 and 1996, due to increased funding requirements, a portion of the credit balance was used. The history of the amount of the credit balance is as follows: 1/1/91 $ 865,313 1/1/92 $ 925,885 1/1/93 $3,865,373 1/1/94 $4,894,904 1/1/95 $5,304,094 1/1/96 $4,801,302 1/1/97 $3,503,365 A concern was raised regarding spending $2 million to reduce unfunded liability by $1 million. Steve Metz, the Pension Fund’s actuary, indicated this is similar to paying a mortgage where the bulk of the interest is paid in the early years. Ms. Rice indicated this method versus simply paying off the amount is reviewed frequently and staff is comfortable this is the best method. It was stated the pension fund is very well funded and a sound plan. Trustee Clark moved to accept the Actuary’s Report for the Employees’ Pension Plan for the plan year beginning 1/1/97 which requires city contribution of at least 7% (est. $3,146,874) of compensation of all employees participating in the plan and an additional contribution (est. $338,526), representing the difference between the Florida Statutes required contribution of $3,485,400 and the City’s estimated contribution per above, to be deducted from the existing credit balance of the plan. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #6 - Other Business: - None. ITEM #7 - Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:35 a.m.