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Minutes 4-19-12.doc
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City of Palm Beach Gardens Police Officers’
Pension Fund
Minutes of the Meeting Held
April 19, 2012
The regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the City of Palm Beach Gardens
Police Officers’ Pension Fund was called to order a t 9:09 AM by Jay Spencer in the
Council Chambers at the Palm Beach Gardens City Hal l at 10500 North Military Trail,
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
TRUSTEES PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT
Jay Spencer, Chair Audrey Ross (Resource Ce nters)
David Pierson, Secretary Bonni Jensen (Law O ffices of Perry & Jensen)
Brad Seidensticker, Trustee Donna Kramer (PBG Clerk’s Office)
Marc Glass, Trustee Steve Stack (ICC Capital Man agement)
Wayne Sidey, Trustee John McCann (Thistle Asset Consulting)
INVESTMENT CONSULTANT REPORT
Thistle Asset Consulting – Presented by John McCann
Mr. McCann noted that he will not have the June 30, 2012 quarterly report available
for the July 12 th meeting because there systems are not updated unti l the 15 th of
each month. The board discussed rescheduling the J uly meeting date until later into
the month or into the beginning of the following mo nth so that Mr. McCann will have
a full quarterly report available. The Trustees ag reed on rescheduling the July 12 ,
2012 meeting to August 9, 2012 at 9AM.
Mr. McCann reviewed the report for the quarter endi ng March 31, 2012. He noted
that we are inline with the policy according to the Plan’s compliance checklist and we
are also in compliance with the scrutinized company policy as well. The total fund
net of fees was slightly behind the index for the q uarter at 8.23% versus 8.25%, but
for the fiscal year to date they are up 16.17%. Th e total Equities had a great
quarter and were up 12.88% versus 12.72%, and the t otal fixed income was behind
the benchmark at .06% versus .25%. Mr. McCann note d that we funded the new
Real Estate Manager, American Realty on April 2, 20 12; therefore their performance
will be reflected on next quarters report. He revi ewed the risk versus reward chart
and commented that the Plan takes about 3% less ris k then the policy which means
this is an unvolatile fund and has been this way fo r a long time period. Mr. McCann
stated that he thinks this Fund has room to take on more risk and get more return as
well.
The Trustees discussed the future markets and all t he talk about the big blow up of
bonds. Mr. McCann explained that since this is an actively managed fund we will
have a better chance of knowing when the rates are going to increase. ICC keeps
low durations on their bonds and we probably will n ot see any inflation within the
next couple of years. Therefore, Mr. McCann is rec ommending to the board to take
the income from Real Estate each quarter and not to have it automatically reinvested
back into the fund.
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INVESTMENT MANAGER REPORT
ICC Capital Management – Presented by Steve Stack
Mr. Stack discussed the current market environment and commented that it has
been hard on the fixed income market because there is not a lot to buy out there at
this time. Their main concern is to make sure they are keeping their portfolios
diversified during this time. For the quarter endi ng March 31, 2012 the fixed income
portfolio was behind the benchmark net of fees at -.07% versus .30%. Mr. Stack
stated that the yields keep getting lower so theref ore duration will start to open up.
ICC thinks that money will then start moving from b onds to stocks because of the
difference in returns that they have been seeing. He noted that going forward ICC
will continue with their same approach by selling o f Treasuries and keeping the
barbell effect in the portfolio. The board discuss ed what AAA rated bonds remain out
there these days because all bonds seem to be getti ng downgraded to sell off their
debt. Mr. Stack explained that ICC contracts out a company to review their ratings
on a daily basis so they see any and all changes on a constant basis. Lastly Mr.
Stack reviewed the equity side of the portfolio whi ch had better performance for the
quarter but still lagged the benchmark net of fees at 12.68% versus 14.69%.
ATTORNEY REPORT
Law Offices of Perry & Jensen - Presented by Bonni Jensen
Ms. Jensen stated that she has the revised GRS fee agreement with her today that
needs to be executed. She reminded the Trustees th at they had accepted a fee
increase from GRS due to the additional information that they are required to
disclosure in the annual Actuarial Valuation report s as a requirement by the Division
of Retirement.
Ms. Jensen reviewed the memo regarding the Palm Bea ch County Ethics Opinion.
She explained and clarified some of the new rules a nd regulations that Trustees must
abide by.
Ms. Jensen notified that there were no pension Stat e laws that were passed during
the recent Legislative session that would affect th e Chapter 175/185 Plans.
Ms. Jensen updated the Board on George Smith’s appe al for buyback which was
denied by the Board at the last meeting. She comme nted that she mailed Mr. Smith
a letter explaining the Boards denial and she has n ot received a response back.
ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Resource Centers – Presented by Audrey Ross
Ms. Ross stated that we will be holding a special m eeting on May 10, 2012 to review
and approve the September 30, 2012 Actuarial Valuat ion Report.
MINUTES
MOTION: Mr. Sidey made a motion to approve the minu tes from the
December 8, 2011 special meeting.
SECOND: Mr. Pierson seconded the motion.
CARRIED: The motion carried unanimously 5-0.
DISBURSEMENTS APPROVALS
MOTION: Mr. Seidensticker made a motion to approve the
disbursements.
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SECOND: Mr. Sidey seconded the motion.
CARRIED: The motion carried unanimously 5-0.
BENEFIT APPROVALS
MOTION: Mr. Glass made a motion to approve the appl ication to enter the
DROP for John Boyle.
SECOND: Mr. Sidey seconded the motion.
CARRIED: The motion carried unanimously 5-0.
MOTION: Mr. Glass made a motion to approve the appl ication for
distribution of DROP account (May 15, 2012) for Mar tin
Greenberg.
SECOND: Mr. Sidey seconded the motion.
CARRIED: The motion carried unanimously 5-0.
MOTION: Mr. Seidensticker made a motion to approve the application to
exit the DROP for Wayne Sidey.
SECOND: Mr. Pierson seconded the motion.
CARRIED: The motion carried unanimously 4-0.
*note Mr. Sidey did note vote*
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The board reviewed and discussed the financial stat ements that were provided
through February 2012.
The board received and filed the financial statemen ts through February
2012.
OLD BUSINESS
Ms. Ross stated that the final copy of the Audit wa s issued and circulated out to all
the Trustees in between meetings. She commented th at the final copy did not
change from the draft copy that was presented to th e board back in January 2012.
Therefore the board still needs to approve the Sept ember 30, 2012 Audited Financial
Statements.
MOTION: Mr. Seidensticker made a motion to approve and accept the
September 30, 2012 Audited Financial Statements as prepared
by the Plan’s Auditor, Cherry, Bekeart & Holland.
SECOND: Mr. Pierson seconded the motion.
CARRIED: The motion carried unanimously 5-0.
OTHER BUSINESS
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Mr. Sidey announced that he is exiting the DROP and separating service therefore he
can no longer serve on the Board. Mr. Sidey shared his experience on the board and
the Trustees thanked him for his time and commitmen t and wished him luck.
Ms. Ross stated that she will start the election pr ocess to fill Mr. Sidey’s seat as soon
as possible.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
N/A
AJOURN
There being no further business, and the future mee tings are scheduled for the 3rd
Thursday of the first month proceeding the quarter. The next special meeting is
scheduled for Thursday May 10, 2012 at 9AM and the next regular meeting was
scheduled for Thursday August 9, 2012 at 9AM; the T rustees officially adjourned the
meeting at 10:32AM.
Respectfully submitted,
_____________________________
DAVID PIERSON, Secretary