05-23-1985 Regular Meeting5/23/85
Miami Shores Village
PENSION BOARD MEETING
May 23, 1985
A meeting of the Miami Shores Village Pension Board was held on
Thursday, May 23, 1985 at 8:00 ADM., in Village Hall, with the following
in attendance:
Mayor Karen Kirby
Dr. Robert Butler, Councilman
Sam Michels, Citizens' Representative
William Walker, Citizens' Representative
John Moore, Employees' Representative
John Fletcher, Chief of Police
Les Forney, Village Manager
Absent: None
Also Present: Wm Yates, Esq., Acting Village Attorney
Gail Macdonald, Finance Director/Plan Administrator
Gerald Bott and Karen Cole, Kidder, Peabody & Co.
Ed Selee, Edwin Reilly, and Wm. Povey, NCNB
National Bank
1. Board Election and Appointment
Mr. Forney called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Chief Fletcher
nominated Mayor Kirby to chair the Pension Board; the motion was seconded
by Sam Michels and carried unanimously. Mr. Forney then suggested the
appointment of Ruth Kennelly as secretary, and approval was signified
by those present.
2. Mayor Kirby assumed the chair of the meeting.
3. Quarterly Review of the Investment Performance, quarter ending 3/31/85..
Gerald Bott of Kidder, Peabody & Associates presented his firm' -'s fund
performance analysis for the quarter ending 3/31/85 (booklet on file).
Mr. Bott's review disclosed that NCNB's performance in the equity sector
was lower than both indexes against which it was compared; i.e., the
Standard & Poor 500, and the Bank Common Stock Index. Total value of
the Fund since placement with NCNB in January, 1983, has increased at
a rate greater than inflation, but total fund growth has failed to
achieve the Board's investment objective of 12%, and has not matched
the performance of the balanced index against which it was rated (50%
Standard & Poor/ 50% Shearson -Lehman American Express). With relation
to the market timing exhibited by NCNB, Mr. Bott disclosed that NCNB's
deviations from the prescribed 50-50 mix resulted in earnings which
were 2.25% less than the market on a cumulative adjusted basis. Our
fund received a 3.9% return for the quarter which placed us in the
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89 percentile and a 14.6% return for the last one-year period, which
placed us in the 53rd percentile overall. Overall, our fund under-
performed the market by 1.8% which is the equivalent of $60,000 below
the investment objective at this time. Since inception the fund has
annually done 1.3% worse than expected.
Mr. Forney requested that Mr. Reilly justify the fund's performance
for the last quarter. Mr. Reilly's response was that the fund was
up significantly in January, but the market had declined in February
and March. Specifically, he noted the fund's 5% position in IBM
stocks which contributed to the decline in February and March. Dr.
Butler requested that Mr. Reilly compare the quality ratings of the
fund's equity holdings to the quality rating of the funds which had
been held two years ago. Mr. Reilly responded that at this time all
equity holdings are rated A or better.
At this time, Mr. Reilly, the portfolio manager, made his presentation
to the Board reviewing the fund's performance for the last quarter
(copy on file). Based upon the anticipated economic outlook and NCNB's
investment strategy, NCNB recommends a new asset mix as follows:
Cash equivalents - 10%
Fixed Income - 20%
Equities - 50%
Real Estate - 20%
Dr. Butler requested that Mr. Reilly clarify why the carrying value of
the assets was indicated on the Quarterly Asset Valuations. Mr. Reilly
responded that the assets were valued in accordance with Federal and
State law and constituted a comparison to value of the last statement,
not in comparison against actual cost. Dr. Butler requested that NCNB
make a cost comparison available as well.
4t Recommendations by Kidder, Peabody
Gerald Bott of Kidder, Peabody recommended to the Board that 10% to 20%
of the Plan assets be reallocated into NCNB's real estate fund. He
distributed the May 13 issue of the PENSION & INVESTMENT AGE publication
(copy on file), which indicated rankings of fund managers and reflected
NCNB's real estate fund to be among the top 5 best -performing funds.
Mr. Bott explained that NCNB real estate fund was a no-load fund with a
1.2% annual management fee which was charged quarterly at the rate of
3% of the Plan assets. In addition, assets may be liquidated quarterly
as required.
Mayor Kirby requested that the logistics of maintaining the asset mix be
explained. Mr. Bott advised that the mechanics of the City's transfer
of funds to NCNB would not change. However, upon receipt of the funds,
NCNB would immediately allocate 10% of the receipts to the real estate
fund with the remainder going into the balanced fund. After the NCNB
real estate audio-visual presentation, Mr. Bott reviewed his recommended
asset mix which compared as follows with that of the recommendation by
NCNB:
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Assets Allocation
NCNB Kidder, 'Peabody
Cash Equivalents 10% 5%
Fixed Income 20% 40%
Equities 50% 35%
Real Estate 20% 20%
At this time, Mr. Bott also recommended that the Board allow him to
investigate the possibility of acquiring an Equity Manager for the
Pension Plan. Based on his recommended asset allocation mix, 35% of
the fund assets or approximately 1.3 million dollars, would be placed
with an Equity Manager with the remainder of the fund remaining with
NCNB to be invested in fixed income and real estate. Mr. Bott offered
to submit the names of three to four Equity Managers chosen by his
organization as the best performing managers based upon the information
available to Kidder, Peabody for Plans with similar investment guidelines
and fund sizes. The Board requested that in addition they be allowed to
submit names of Equity Managers for review by Kidder, Peabody; specifically,
it was requested that Kidder, Peabody include Investment Counsel and
United Business Counsel in their review. It was agreed that at a later
date the Board would compare the fees of the Equity Managers versus the
fees currently being charged by NCNB, as well as reviewing the custodial
functions being performed by NCNB.
Mayor Kirby suggested that it might be prudent for the Board to reduce
the initial allocation to the real estate fund below that which had been
recommended (20%), until such time as the fund's performance could be
analyzed. After discussion, Chief Fletcher moved that 10% of the pension
funds be allocated to the real estate fund. The motion was seconded
by Dr. Butler and unanimously carried.
A motion was then made by Mr. Walker to allow Mr. Forney and Kidder,
Peabody to review the possibilities of obtaining an Equity Manager.
Motion was seconded by Dr. Butler, and passed unanimously,
5. Approval of Minutes of February 15, 1985.
Chief Fletcher moved that the Minutes of February 15, 1985, be approved
as written. Motion was seconded by Mr. Michels and carried.
6. New Business.
A) Dr. Butler initiated discussion concerning the last cost -of -living
increase which had been granted to current pensioners and requested
that the Board consider reviewing the possibility of providing
cost -of -living adjustment protection to current and future pensioners.
Mr. Forney advised the Board that such an action would require
research and recommendation from the Village's actuary at a fee
above the base fee normally required. Dr. Butler moved that
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Mr. Forney be authorized to use up to $1,000 to obtain
information relating to the possibility of the cost -of -
living adjustment. Motion was seconded by Mr.. Walker,
Mayor Kirby and Sam Michels opposed.
B.) John Moore requested that the Board consider the possibility
of instituting a Keogh type program for employees in which
employeescould invest in addition to the Village's Pension Plan.
The Plan Administrator, Gail Macdonald, informed the Board that
the Village already had a deferred compensation plan available
for employees through ICMA. The Board requested that this
information be made available to the employees again, whereupon
Ms. Macdonald responded that notification would appear in the next
issue of the Employee Newsletter.
Dr. Butler asked whether any type of informative pension pamphlet
was available for employee review. Ms. Macdonald responded
that several rough drafts of this booklet have been prepared,
and a final draft should be forthcoming to the Board no later
than October, 1985.
Mr. Walker moved for adjournment at approximately 11:15 A.M.
Approved:
Karen Kirby, May,