At the regularly scheduled meeting of the Fire and Police Pension Fund Board of Directors held on the 16th day of February 2017, President Craig Joel presided. The meeting was held at the Pension Office, 6009 John Douglass Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37421.
The meeting convened at 0910 hours with board members Craig Joel, Kelly Simmons, Charlie Thomason, Tommy Meeks, and Vickie Haley. Attorney Cameron Hill was also present in Attorney Bill Robinson’s absence. Phillip McClain and Mark Coffman were excused absences.
Motion by Tommy Meeks and seconded by Kelly Simmons to approve the minutes of the February 02, 2017 meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Attorney Cameron Hill reported that the Group Health Insurance Agreement between the City of Chattanooga and the Fire and Police Pension Fund had been finalized. The Board reviewed the Agreement and discussed making the effective date of the Agreement December 25, 2016 to ensure Previous Fund Administrator Frank Hamilton was covered, as that was his last day of employment. Motion by Charlie Thomason and seconded by Tommy Meeks to approve the Group Health Insurance Agreement with an effective date of December 25, 2016. Motion carried unanimously. After being signed by the Board President, Katrina Abbott was instructed to forward the Agreement to Valerie Malueg at the City Attorney’s office for signature by the proper person at the City. Katrina will request that Valerie return a fully executed copy of the Agreement to the Fund.
Motion by Charlie Thomason and seconded by Tommy Meeks to approve the following membership items:
REMOVE FROM THE ROLLS:
- Betty Moore – surviving spouse of retired Fire Marshall James B. Moore, Sr., effective 02/28/2017, died 02/10/2017 (2-411)
- Retired Police Sergeant Mitchell Ball, effective 02/28/2017, died 02/06/2017 (2-411)
ADD TO THE ROLLS:
- Paula Ball, surviving spouse of Retired Police Sergeant Mitchell Ball, effective 03/01/2017 (2-411)
REFUND CONTRIBUTIONS:
- Former Police Officer Mark E. Niethammer, terminated 02/05/2017, adjusted participation date of 04/19/2014(2-413)
PAY DEATH BENEFITS:
- Paula Ball, designated beneficiary of Mitchell Ball (2-411)
Motion carried unanimously.
The Board reviewed the bills paid since the last meeting.
Interim Fund Administrator Katrina Abbott updated the Board on the Evanston redemption request that was originally scheduled March 31, 2017. The redemption is now scheduled for July 1, 2017. The authorized signers for Evanston was not updated after the Fund’s previous Relationship Manager with Wells Fargo retired last year. Wells Fargo is reviewing the authorized signers for all accounts, as well as implementing internal controls to prevent this issue in the future.
The Board discussed the finalists for the RFP for Investment Consultant Services. Upon conclusion of the discussion, motion by Charlie Thomason and seconded by Kelly Simmons to invite 1)Dahab Associates 2) NEPC 3)AndCo Consulting (formerly Bogdahn) and 4) Gerber Taylor to make final presentations before the Board on March 2, 2017 and March 16, 2017.
Warren Milnor and Mark Hicks of Gerber Taylor Associates presented the 4Q-2016 Investment Performance report to the Board. Mr. Milnor reported that the first month of 2016 was one of the most volatile starts since 2008, hence dragging the year end return. The Fund returned 5.8 as of 4Q-2016 year end. Gerber Taylor recommends the following changes on the previous recommendation of reallocation of assets:
- Reduce current redemption request from Evanston from $8M to $6M
- Rescind all of the $8M redemption request from Pointer
- Move forward with $4M redemption from Forester at Year End
The withdrawals from Evanston and Forester will be to provide cash for benefit payments and/or rebalance the portfolio allocating to other lower volatility vehicles. The Board postponed making a decision on the recommendations until all Board members have been updated on the change.
Motion by Charlie Thomason and seconded by Kelly Simmons to adjourn at 1115 hours. Motion carried unanimously.
Notes: Personnel Committee to meet after quarterly investment report on 2/16/17
Visitors Not Appearing Before the Board: Ron Boyd, Michael Hart, and Ruth Layne
Craig Joel Mark Coffman
President Secretary