HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Fire Pension 071116PALM BEACH GARDENS FIREFIGHTERS’ PENSION FUND
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD
JULY 11, 2016
A meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order at 1:06PM at Council Chambers,
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Those persons’ present were:
TRUSTEES OTHERS
Rick Rhodes, Chair Audrey Ross, Administrator
Martin Cohen, Vice Chair Dan Johnson, Investment Consultant
Tom Murphy, Secretary Pedro Herrera, Attorney (via telephone)
Ed Morejon (arrived 1:30pm)
Jon Currier
PUBLIC COMMENTS
N/A
MINUTES
The Trustees reviewed the minutes of the April 12, 2016 special meeting.
Tom Murphy made a motion to approve the April 12, 2016 minutes. The motion
was seconded by Jon Currier and it carried 4-0.
The Trustees reviewed the minutes of the May 4, 2016 regular meeting.
Tom Murphy made a motion to approve the March 7, 2016 minutes. The motion
was seconded by Jon Currier and it carried 4-0.
ATTORNEY REPORT: SUGERMAN & SUSSKIND (PEDRO HERRERA-VIA
TELEPHONE)
Mr. Herrera presented the Board with the revised DROP distribution policy. He
reviewed the changes and Ms. Ross noted some other slight corrections.
Tom Murphy made a motion to approve the DROP distribution policy as amended.
The motion was seconded by Jon Currier and it carried 4-0.
Mr. Herrera reviewed the IRS memo regarding the normal retirement age (NRA) and in-
service distributions. He noted that the revised NRA does not affect this pension plan as
they are already in compliance. Ms. Ross confirmed with the City that they do not allow
for in-service distributions, nor have they rehired a retiree back as a Firefighter.
Therefore no action is needed on behalf of the Plan.
Mr. Herrera updated the Board on the BancorpSouth litigation case. The discovery phase
is still in process but since the last meeting, the Attorney for BancorpSouth filed a motion
to appeal the summary judgement documents. They have not been back to court yet
regarding this matter, but Robbins Geller thinks the motion will be dismissed. Mr.
Herrera noted that there is still no settlement discussion as of yet and that he will update
the Board as more information comes along.
Mr. Herrera briefly listed some of the Trustee educational opportunities that are coming
up.
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Lastly Mr. Herrera noted that Foster & Foster has completed the Senate Bill 534
Compliance Report (Section 112.664, Florida Statutes) on behalf of the Plan. Ms. Ross
stated that this document will be posted to the Plan’s website to be in compliance.
INVESTMENT MONITOR REPORT: THE BOGDAHN GROUP (DAN
JOHNSON)
Mr. Johnson presented the Board with the Plan’s comparative performance over the last 5
fiscal years. He noted that this report is also a requirement of Senate Bill 534 and will be
posted on the Plan’s website for compliance purposes. Mr. Johnson reviewed the
positive changes this Plan has made to their portfolio over the last couple of years and
commented that you can clearly see they were beneficial and helped increase the Plan’s
assets while still protecting them. He stated that he would like to use this Plan as a
reference when speaking at conferences because it is a perfect example of how trending
pension plans should be. The Trustees concurred.
Mr. Johnson reviewed the Plan’s flash performance report for the month ending June 30,
2016. For the quarter the total fund, net of fees is up 1.41% and for the fiscal year to date
they are up 5.68%. He explained that during the quarter interest rates continued to
decrease and the BREXIT occurred. The Board discussed the BREXIT and Mr. Johnson
commented that it did not have any impact on the portfolio. Mr. Johnson briefly
reviewed each manager’s performance and noted that despite the market place all the
mangers are doing well with the exception of Templeton, which is still lagging. At the
last meeting the Board discussed replacing Templeton do to their long term
underperformance and Mr. Johnson stated that he will bring some other
recommendations/alternatives to the Board to review at their next meeting when the final
quarter numbers are out. Lastly he noted that he will be inviting Dana to an upcoming
meeting to meet their new client service rep.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: RESOURCE CENTERS (AUDREY ROSS)
DISBURSEMENTS
The Board reviewed the disbursements presented for approval by the Administrator.
A motion was made by Tom Murphy to approve the disbursements as presented by
the Administrator. The motion was seconded by Jon Currier and carried 5-0.
BENEFIT APPROVALS
The Board reviewed the benefit approval list dated July 11, 2016 as presented by the
Administrator (applications to enter the DROP for Edward Schultheis & Christopher
Henry, the application to exit the DROP for Johnny Gillins, and the applications for
distributions from DROP & Share accounts for Richard Holder).
A motion was made by Ed Morejon to approve the applications to enter the DROP
for Edward Schultheis & Christopher Henry. The motion was seconded by Tom
Murphy and carried 5-0.
A motion was made by Tom Murphy to approve the application to exit the DROP
for Johnny Gillins. The motion was seconded by Jon Currier and carried 5-0.
A motion was made by Ed Morejon to approve the applications for distributions
from DROP and Share accounts for Richard Holder. The motion was seconded by
Tom Murphy and carried 5-0.
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Ms. Ross stated that they are reviewing the Auditor and Custodian contract today as they
review all their service providers periodically. The Trustees discussed and agreed that
they were happy with the service provided by the Auditor and there was no need for
change. In regards to the Custodial contract, the Trustees agreed that from a fiduciary
standpoint it has been a very long time since they have reviewed the Custodian and
compared them to what else is out there.
A motion was made by Ed Morejon to authorize the Administrator to issue a
Custodial RFP on behalf of the Plan. The motion was seconded by Tom Murphy
and carried 5-0.
OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Morejon discussed the timing of the last quarters DROP statements. Ms. Ross stated
that there was a delay this quarter but they were mailed out last week. She does not
expect any delays going forward.
OTHER BUSINESS
Mr. Rhodes stated that he was selected to attend the FPPTA New York stock exchange
Trustee program in 2017. He is asking the Trustee’s permission for the Board to pay half
of the cost of the registration and all related trip expenses.
A motion was made by Tom Murphy to approve Mr. Rhodes attending the 2017
FPPTA New York stock exchange Trustee program and authorize the Board to pay
half of all related expenses. The motion was seconded by Marty Cohen and carried
5-0.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:04PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Murphy, Secretary