HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-02-15_Retirement Board Agenda_Meeting No 290RETIREMENT BOARD MEETING February 16, 2023
I. Opening of Meeting.
2. Approval of Minutes No. 288 dated August 18, 2022 and No. 289 dated November
30, 2022
3. Public Comment.
4. Treasurer's Report:
Bank Reconciliations — November 2022 — December 2022
5. Requisitions:
Requisitions — December 2022 — January 2023
6.Old Business.
7. New Business:
A. Addendum from Marquette Associates.
B. Approval of a request from Rachel Roney to purchase prior service time dated
April 23, 2016 thru November 14, 2016 in the amount of $15, 479.79.
C. Portfolio Presentation: Lee Martin, Ph.D. — Marquette Associates.
8. Adjournment.
Minute No. 288 August 18, 2022
The quarterly meeting of the Washington County Retirement Board was held at
approximately 2:54 p.m. on Thursday, August 18, 2022, in the public meeting room with the
following members being present: Commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan, Larry Maggi and Nick
Sherman; Treasurer Tom Flickinger; and Controller April Sloane. Also present: Chief Clerk Cindy
Griffin; Secretary Paula Jansante; Executive Assistant Marie Trossman; Chief of Staff Michael
Namie; Solicitor Jana Grimm; Finance Director Joshua Hatfield; Dave Reichert representing
Korn Ferry; Lee Martin, Ph.D. and Sara Wilson representing Marquette Associates. Deputy
Sheriffs Jack Camerson and Tyler Pape; and Payroll Supervisor Brittany Mosco.
Approval of Minutes
Mrs. Vaughan entertained a motion to approve Meeting Minute No. 286 dated February 17,
2022. The motion was moved by Mr. Sherman and seconded
minutes be approved as written.
No discussion followed. `µ
'15 ,u
Roll call vote taken:
Ms. Sloane — yes; Mr. Flickinger — yes; Mr. M yes; Mr. Sherman -
�x
Motion passed unanimously.
Mrs. Vaughan entertained a rop to hold the Sh
abeyance pending corrections. The in p�move�
that the above -mentioned minutes be hel 9 cow
Roll call vote taken:
Ms. Sloane — no; Mr
Motion passed.
February 2022,
motions to accept the
Roll call vote taken:
i that the above -mentioned
Vaughan — yes.
inutes of May fl% 022, in
by Sherman and seconded by Mr. Maggi
Mr. 'a.n — yes; Mrs. Vaughan — yes.
n to accept the presented reconciliations of January 2022,
122, May 2022, and June 2022. Mr. Sherman seconded the
of the mentioned above.
Ms. Sloane — yes; Mr. Flickinger — yes; Mr. Maggi —yes; Mr. Sherman — yes; Mrs. Vaughan — yes.
Motion passed unanimously.
Retirement Allowance Report
Bank Balance as of January 1, 2022
$ 867,695.,12
Deposits to Checking Account
-0-
Transfers In
285216, 68
Add: ACH Credit
262618,16
,
Other Credits
-0-
Less: Cancelled Checks
(96,775.49)
Less: Other Debits
-0-
Less: ACH Debits
(935,113.65)
Funds Transfers Out
-0-
Bank Balance as of January 31, 2022
Transfers to Mutual Fund
Less: Outstanding Checks
Less: Retirement Check Run
Reconciled Balance as of January 31, 2022
Bank Balance as of February 1, 2022
Deposits to Checking Account
Transfers In
Add: ACH Credit
Other Credits
Less: Cancelled Checks
Less: Other Debits
Less: ACH Debits
Funds Transfers Out
Bank Balance as of February 28, 2022
Transfers to Mutual Fund
Less: Outstanding Checks
Less: Retirement Check Run
Reconciled Balance as of February 28, 2022
Bank Balance as of March 1, 2022
Deposits to Checking unt
Transfers In
Add: ACH Crecw� -
Other Credits ,
Less Cancelled Checks
ACH Debit
Irils Transfers Out
Baance as of Mach 022
Transfelutual Fund
Less:Outst Checks
Less: Retirement
Reconciled Balance as"tarch 31, 2022
Bank Balance as of April 1, 2022
Deposits to Checking Account
Transfers In
Add: ACH Credit
Other Credits
Less: Cancelled Checks
Less: Other Debits
Less: ACH Debits
Funds Transfers Out
Bank Balance as of April 30, 2022
Transfers to Mutual Fund
Less: Outstanding Checks
$ 383,640.82
-0-
(338,339.80)
/AQ'101 n')\
.P
$ 383,640.82
-0-
-0-
257,460.82
848,170.05
(388,848.82)
-0-
(897,628.40)
-0-
�02,794.47
-v-
$ 210,995.01
-0-
(182,832.40)
M Q 1 L `f L 1
$ -0-
$ 210,995.01
-0-
769,496.02
265,885.41
- 0-
(190,934.68)
-0-
loot cll nn�
-V-
$ 169,768.77
-0-
(142,545.77)
Less: Retirement Check Run (27.223.00)
Reconciled Balance as of February 28, 2022 $ -0-
Bank Balance as of May 1, 2022
$ 169,768.77
Deposits to Checking Account
-0-
Transfers In
804.594.42
Add: ACH Credit
270.995.93
Other Credits
-0- (301,316,22)
Less: Cancelled Checks
-0-
Less: Other Debits
Less: ACH Debits
(888,791.71)
Funds Transfers Out
-0-
Bank Balance as of May 31, 2022
$ 55,251.19
Transfers to Mutual Fund
-0-
Less: Outstanding Checks
139.07)
Less: Retirement Check Run 661.45)
Checks Duplicated (ck #2339-2340) e 49.33
Reconciled Balance as of May 31, 2022
Bank Balance as of June 1, 2022
Deposits to Checking Account
Transfers In
Add: ACH Credit
Other Credits
01'11AMR
Less: Cancelleds
Less: Other Deb ,
Less: ACH Debits
'$ 55,549.33
-0-
005,310.31
1)600.38
V.64
839.76)
-0-
(91 SRnS A71
-u-
$ 159,271.29
-0-
(205,358.64)
74,500.31
OR_41296)
$ -0-
Requisitions
Ms. Sloane made a motion to approve the requisitions for the months of May 2022, June
2022, and July 2022. It was seconded by Mr. Sherman that the requisitions be approved.
No discussion followed.
Roll call vote taken:
Ms. Sloane — yes; Mr. Flickinger — yes; Mr. Maggi — yes; Mr. Sherman — yes; Mrs. Vaughan — yes.
Motion passed unanimously.
Distributions
Check
2341
2342
2343
2344
2345
2346
2347
Transfer
Transfer
Check
2349
2350
2351
2352
2353
2354
2355
2356
2357
2358
2359
2363
2364
2365
2366
2367
Transfer:
Transfer:
May 2022
Payee
National Financial Services as Trustee of IRA of Casey Bamberger
Principal Trust Company FBO Danielle M Deklewa
Rosemari J Fassette
Zackary Fike
TD Ameritrade as Trustee of IRA of Lauren Wadsworth
Washington County Regular Payroll Escrow Account
Washington Co. Cash Disbursement Acct
PNC Bank
Washington Co. Retirement Acct
Total May 2022 Distributions
June 2022
Matrix Trust Comp Ryan Wilityer ,
Trustee of GBU FinancQ- fie FBO Heather Smith
Capital Bank & Trust as trustee of Jeff Franks
Fidelity Man ent Trust Co FB OR l Burnett
Fidelity Man st Co FBO Joh"�ard Burnett
C1t�ook
tlhe Jo�ne_ x wad
s aid Oghve .�_k
A FrIJr
v_. Jeremy Em'ph
-,Kayla D Martin
Vda L Snyder
Francis E Jeffers
on County Regular Payroll Escrow Account
3hington Co. Cash Disbursement Acct
PNC Bank
Washington Co. Retirement Acct.
Total June 2022 Distributions
July 2022
Amount
23,385.85
15,986.27
1,926.36
10,345.70
1,998.13
22,839.30
86.270.94
61,418.14
4G1 A10 AA
l,V /J,J7 V.JJ
Amount
2.437.32
58,757.05
10,700.00
8.740.81
10.750.79
2,085.78
59.071.31
2,559.96
3,827.42
776.52
48,853.89
6.520.46
9,593.88
1.357.20
3.845.03
187.24
187.24
21.971.82
18.950.98
86.154.81
854,581.18
1,211,910.69
Check
Payee
Amount
2368
Benjamin Cagnon - VOID
(48,853.89)
2369
Benjamin Cagnon - REISSUE
48,853.89
2370
Wayne Kress
1.114.31
2371
Beth Phillips
12.625.37
2372
Lisa Leach
989.46
2373
Najah McBryde
902.35
2374
Megan Lindley
9.895.67
2375
Mina Thompson
2,430.06
2376
Garland Fuqua II
3.429.17
2377
Maureen Springmeyer
8.373.07
2378
Jordan McCrae
9.030.50
2379
Anna Tutwiler-Emler for Zachary Emler
18.940.04
2380
Anna Tutwiler-Emler for Brooke Emler
18.940.04
2381
Alton Eckert
32.68
2382
George Eckert
32.68
2383
Washington County Regular Payroll Escrow Account
22,313.54
Transfer:
Washington Co. Cash Disbursement Acct
3.304.34
Transfer:
PNC Bank
71.369.83
Washington Co. Retirement Acct.
857,733.68
Total July 2022 Distributions
1,0041,456.79
Old Business
None.
New Business
Mrs. Vaughan entertained a motion to
prior service time, dated December 27, 2004, to
motion was moved by Mr. Sherman and second
approved.
No discussion followed.
Roll call vote taken:
Ms. Sloane — yes; Mr. Flickinger — yes, a
Motion passed unanima
�.,
Presentation — Dave
is to
",, *-quest f ffaele Casale to purchased
7, 2006, in the unt of $1975.75. The
Mr. Maggi that the a mentioned request be
� r
�s
Mr. S n — yes; Mrs. Vaughan — yes.
ion report, noting that the purpose of the
to put funds into the plan so that when the
participdftt,'ptire there is e h mori , sHowever, the true cost to the retirement plan are what
benefits area aid out.�stima he valuation report and since it is an estimate, the goal
Y p� � 1�
is to keep the contion in the
C each year as level as possible. Washington County's
contribution has been ewhe` "the $4 million to $5 million range. There is an effort to keep it
consistent by smoothing the Mr. Reichert pointed to a chart that shows the effects of the asset
smoothing over a five-year period. There is a recognition of a gain or loss of each year of 20% over a
five-year period until all the gain or loss for that year is recognized. He went on to note that the
market value as of January 1st was $214 million but for the valuation purpose, $199 million was used.
However, numbers now are above $199 million, which is a positive.
Mr. Reichert moved on to the summary of demographics. He stated that the numbers are consistent
for 2021 to 2022. That leads one to believe that the numbers will stay consistent from year to year.
He then went on to reviewing that the ADC numbers went down to $100,000 due to the assets having
a good year. The normal costs remained the same as well as the expected member contribution,
however, amortization charges went down, and this is what was affected by the assets. Funded ratio
did go up, from just below 90% to just below 94%. Most counties are between 80-100%. The
funded ratio is always calculated based on the assumptions. Washington County's assumptions are
much lower and is conservative. The statistical report that is presented in December will put in
perspective how Washington County is doing comparative to other counties.
Mr. Reichert went on to present a 10-year history of the funded ratio. He noted the positive aspect of
the increase. While Washington County may not always be at 95%, but it is always trending in the
right direction, reflecting the positive contributions in the last 10 years, noting a job well done in
managing the retirement fund.
He moved on to review the history of the investment return assumptions over the last 20 years. The
median 20 years ago was 8% and Washington County was at 7.5%. This reflects how the county has
been ahead of the curve as far as Pennsylvania counties are concerned. He notes the downward trend
of the investment rate return assumption goes from 8%, 20 years ago, to median being 7%. He points
out that Washington County has always been below that median and currently sits at 6.5%. This puts
the county in a good position as far as the assumption chart.
Finally, Mr. Reichert noted to keep track of the investment_ _assumption and consistently
monitor it. He also goes on to touch on the COLA letter t o iY October, noting that there
only a requirement to look at it every three years, t :' ay need to ��ted on. He also brings
forth a reminder that and estimate letter for nex is also sent at that t � well.
Portfolio Presentation — Lee Martin, Marquette-77
Mr. Martin begins by stating thtracted bye
for the second quarter in a row. This contN on wa has s
the back of both privatE�ew,r vestment ng rq,
impacting future earn and whaf federal t is
economy. Residential
borrow mom
dec
is notamg=
job claims are
to go up. He no
lookback at this
from dec
every
Q2 and so growth has declined
igni t as the first quarter. This is on
gate i estment due to inflation
doh thru tightening to cull the
on t , ftack of rates going up so that it costs more to
defines a recession as a significant
ved by' -"al economic indicators. The strong job market
And while unemployment indicators tend to be lagging,
reflection. Unemployment claims are starting
start to rise, a recession occurs eminently. A future
a recession, but expectations are that by the end of the year
or in 2023, we should expeweession. There is not a lot to be done to stop it. The government has
"
culled the market a bit but to impact inflation, there needs to be impact on the supply side, but
tightening does nothing to impact the supply side. The expectation is that inflation will stay higher.
Though inflation has come down about 50 basis points from the previous month, and producer prices
have come down about 50 basis points, that is expected due to the Fed tightening starting to work its
way through the economy. Inflation will remain elevated for longer than expected though, as some
areas of inflation will be sticky, like wages and rent/shelter inflation. This is not simply going to go
away. Some inflation is transitory: commodity prices and energy prices go up and down. However,
there are some that are more permanent and sticky, like in the service industries. The resulting
expectation is for inflation to be higher for longer.
Moving on to the Global Economy, Mr. Martin points out the similar dynamics across the world. He
notes that Europe is in a worse state due to the ties to Russia for energy. Using Sweden as a
predictor, Europe will go into a recession. Though it may be rougher than in the US, again, due to the
ties to Russian energy markets. Mr. Maggi pauses to inquire about grain and its effect, to which Mr.
Martin explains that is why food prices are up so much. Stating it ties back into the supply side.
Moving on to China, Mr. Martin touches on their real estate issue and their zero Covid policy taking
them back years. China is trying to kickstart the economy and put just over a trillion dollars into
their economy to try and build infrastructure. They were positive in Q2 and equity markets were
down double figures. However, in July more issues arose, and China has dropped a lot again.
Equities were down 16.7% in the US. This is no surprise because inflation is high, profit margins are
down, and future earnings expectations are lower. The international market did slightly better, down
14.5%. In local terms, it was only down about 8%. The US Doller appreciated on the back of the rate
increase, by about 6.5% making a big impact on international returns. Touching on bonds, in the first
half of the year bonds are down 10.3% making it the worse start
commenced in 1970. The rising rates are impacting the
quarter, down 6.1 %, due to of the slowing inflationary
investment for the past 18 months, but it is starting
infrastructure are down 7.5%, which is negative
x
market.
Focusing on Washington County Employes l
of June 30th the fund finished at just over m
$12million so far in qua up a po
8.1 % net including a = fees for uarter w
ranks the county in the 1 �ficentiNamong the
public funsl� l for the s- =c
portfolt� ere is no e, that theounty is of
aided by
The eme
Russia in Q2.
timber -farmland.
of
still 9%
E
since the bond index
came in below bonds in the first
TIPS has been a great
bonds. Commodities and
the broad equity
Mr. Martin starts by noting that as
been a gain of about
in quarter 2. It was down
above the policy index. This
outperforming about 89% of all the
and conservative nature of the
in this type of risk off market. This is
quality pniaons w the portfolio as well as the low volatility type managers.
international small cap
was accro�e for Wiington County but that was really on the back of
vate rea *ets are positive: the infrastructure, the real estate, and the
as well for the quarter, with a small allocation you have
because spreads blew out a little bit during the quarter.
Though, in July they were the two areas that lead the market, which is why the county has diversified
across a lot of asset types. When one is more conservative, from an assumed rate of return position,
one can tilt the portfolio a little more to the higher quality type assets. However, when there is a
higher target, one must be more aggressively invested, resulting in more in small caps because one
needs to chase return more.
In the past ten years, Washington County has averaged about 7.6% per year, gaining $112 million
and ranking in the 371h percentile of the public fund universe. That has been in a very strong return
environment post GFC. The county did finally get the last calls for private equity and credit. Leaving
nothing really on the horizon before becoming fully diversified. In June, there were some
redemptions put in on real estate. Real estate was up over 30% this year. Valuations have gone
through the roof, particularly in industrial sectors. The key with private real estate is one wants to be
on the front end of trimming, taking the gains out. Just as it is gated on the way in it can be gated on
the way out if everyone tries to get the money out at the same time. The county got in early
previously, resulting in getting the money back, bringing it halfway back to target. By banking half
of the gains, they will come back into the plan and back into equities and fixed.
Under net cash flow, in the second quarter no money needed taken out, only $1.7m was taken out
early in the first quarter. Unlike a lot of counties that are having to take money out every month, the
first half of the year the ADC supported any payments for Washington. Therefore, all the negative
returns are on paper. The negative return is only banked when it is sold. However, there will start to
be a need to sell assets to support benefit payments for the rest of this year. This is the case for all
counties this point. The market has recovered a bit over the summer, so the assets will not be sold at
lows. Because the county has de -risked the plan over time, is not down as much as others, helping to
limit losses.
Washington County has held up a lot better on the downside. _ n "� or a plan of Washington
'i "5 h�
County's size, which is a small or mid institutional sized_Atfort;�iand work are put in, there will
*>
be a nicely diversified fund that looks more like a lagstitutiona. The county is not only
diversified across asset classes, equities, and bo ibre is also volatill premium, real estate,
timber farmland, and infrastructure. Also, there iM� hybrid of irivate equi d private credit. So,
there's not only diversity by asset class, but there are twgb, � ee managers z ch of these
Mph
� � n
areas too, giving diversity within the atiass. This has ped to smooth 'and lower volatility.
Ideally, best thin is to invest for acm assumed f return with the lowest volatility
Y g g tY
r
possible each year.
r`
The past year produc� od re la erforma as d €lg otection against the policy
.1i1't.�
index. The county came -own 6 9for the yeah d the policy index was down 8.1 %. However,
the ranking �f _ g policy in 1? perc # e. That means great work from an asset
allocati� t of Vt�d theementat theanagers have added another 120 basis
points o..rn above thanes, co ` that to a plans or smaller counties that can't diversify, and
they just in 65/35 The b In line: county would be down 13% for the year if you only
invested in stoc%d bonds. No ou will see the opposite when you get a recovery in stocks and
bonds. Those funds ump upittle more, and the county won't be up as high. But when that
occurs, others making 2ashington it might be making 17%. The assumed rate of return is
6.5%. The funded ratio will l be going up at that point. The focus for unfunded pension funds is
to focus on the downside.
US equities were without 2% ahead for the quarter and 2.5% for the year. This is due to the two
defensive active managers TWIN and GWK. They are more of a higher quality approach. TWIN is
more of a dividend payer, it tends to be more of a larger cap dividend payer, and they tend to hold up
better in down markets. TWIN was lagging about a year ago in the low -quality rallies and they
should be ahead when we have a stressed market. When the county went more conservative and de -
risked, they changed TWIN's strategy to the higher quality Dividend Select.
On the global side, Washington County is about 250bps ahead for the quarter, really driven by the
value manager, Dodge and Cox. As rates go up, that favors value over more highly levered growth
stocks. They were down only 9.7% whereas ACWI was down 15.7%. The other accretive strategy
was the MFS low volatility fund, down only 8.9% for the quarter. Additionally, for the year, Low
Volatility only being down 11.4% whereas ACWI has been down 20%. What didn't work well for
the quarter was the growth strategies. This did great two years ago but is about on benchmark for the
quarter. Though, Artisan is doing well this quarter to date as it has pivoted back to growth
outperforming value and Artisan has more tech in their portfolio. With the different pieces of each,
the goal is to try to pick up return every quarter from different areas of the market.
On the international side, Washington County is about 2% ahead for the quarter, since Schroders was
down only about 12%, ACWI was down 14.3%, and the emerging markets was down only 10%.
Defensive equities are where one would expect to outperform when there is volatility in the markets.
Down about 5% over one year and stocks were down about 20% over the one year. That has been
true to its name of defensive equity.
Moving on to private real estate. A couple of years ago, the
had a lot of retail and office. This was positive because the
that are doing great, industrial and apartment, and vex
performance from that, over the one year, is up ne
was made to start redeeming. The county is ab
gains is to bank them. Both Clarion and TA have d
They may have one more call. Then, th% can be mea
as real estate in this inflationary envirott�ketat it's
real asset bucket.
Infrastructure has been
for the quarter as weld -
equity. It's negative but
$300,000 xc
.
alone. I,
Private eq
stocks are down.;
only 1 % whereas
mar this yeast 3
t over 1 °AW
ove, yeah
t do _ nywhere
reba ant=f in
private cret
o and 18%
The little things added
fixed
Which
percent above
Dved out of JP Morgan, which
n more overweight in the areas
ight in retail and office. The
oes into why the choice
e
tar ' The only way to have
is just g - fully funded out.
the 50/50. It wit add as much
's a good hedge for inflation in the
3. _ and JP Morgan is up 3.5%
Cohen Steers is a listed infrastructure
much as the broad equity markets. About
cture as to leave the private investments
vate equity is only down 50 basis points whereas
.The private credit, over the past years, have been down
is down around 7%.
from a return pattern point -of -view, ultimately leading to
a drop in volatility and better protection on the downside. If there is a fast aggressive growing equity
market, it will lag the market in that that environment, but from an absolute return point -of -view,
returns should be well above the assumed rate of return in that environment. Washington County is
nicely diversified so there should never be a big shock because there are so many different
investments doing different things.
The traditional assets in OPEB are very similar but this fund is smaller so there are no privates in it.
There is listed infrastructure instead of private infrastructure. The only private in it is private real
estate. Outside that, looking at performance, it finished at $22.5 million, down 9.3%, so the absolute
is down a little more than the pension fund due to the more aggressive investment and there not being
as much private. Relatively, it is about 180 basis points above policy index because the structure
within it is more like our OCIO model. This is due to it being built from the ground up, where the
pension fund has investments that have been there many years. Other things were fit around it, so that
is why absolute little worse. It is more aggressively invested but relatively better because the OCIO
portfolio is modeled to be optimal and top quartile performers in risk off markets. Similarly, things
worked well and didn't work as well from an attribution point of view. Over the past seven, there has
been a gain of over $7 million. Compared to other counties, many others that have this liability do
not have a fund. Washington County funded that over seven years ago. By putting money into a fund,
a higher discount rate is used, due to investment, bringing liability down. More importantly, with
over $7 million of gains, money doesn't have to be taken from the general fund. Longer term
performance was predominantly indexing, but more importantly, more recently it has been
diversified, at least across the traditional asset classes. For the year, it is over 2% ahead.
The meeting was adjourned
THE FOREGOING MINUTES.UJIITTED FOR APPROVAL:
2022
1:1
Minute No. 289 November 30, 2022
The quarterly meeting of the Washington County Retirement Board was held at
approximately 2:36 p.m. on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, in the public meeting room with the
following members being present: Commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan, Larry Maggi and Nick
Sherman; Treasurer Tom Flickinger; and Controller April Sloane. Also present: Chief Clerk Cindy
Griffin; Secretary Paula Jansante; Executive Assistant Marie Trossman; Chief of Staff Michael
Namie; Lee Martin, Ph.D. representing Marquette Associates; and Frank Byrd.
Approval of Minutes
Mrs. Vaughan entertained a motion to approve Meeting Minute No. 287 dated May 19, 2022.
The motion was moved by Mr. Sherman and seconded by Mr. Maggi that the above -mentioned
minutes be approved as written.
No discussion followed.
Roll call vote taken:
Ms. Sloane — yes; Mr. Flickinger — yes; Mr. Maggi —
Motion passed unanimously.
Mrs. Vaughan entertained a motion to h"Q
abeyance stating they did not receive said minute
that the minutes were supplied to Chief. -Clerk Cindy,
the retirement information was receives
the minutes were supplied weeks ago My�
received them and thus, the —meson was theft
that the above -mention "" minutes held for
Roll call vote taken:
Ms. Sloane n _ Mr. Flickitt .; r
�����
Motion nase`
None.
;St"ign — yes; Mrs. Vaughan — yes.
meeting minutes ougust 18, 2022, in
the previous afternos. Sloane countered
prior. Mrs.
that
to which Ms. Sloane replied that just
the Commissioners had not
seconded by Mr. Maggi
Mr. Sherman — yes; Mrs. Vaughan — yes.
Mr. Flickinger i A"on to accept the reconciled statement for of July, August,
September, and October 202` s presented. Mr. Sherman seconded the motion to accept the
reconciliations of the mentioned above.
Roll call vote taken:
Ms. Sloane — yes; Mr. Flickinger — yes; Mr. Maggi — yes; Mr. Sherman — yes; Mrs. Vaughan — yes.
Motion passed unanimously.
Retirement Allowance Report
Bank Balance as of July 1, 2022 $ 159,271.20
Deposits to Checking Account -0-
Transfers In 837,504.93
ACH Credit 279,011.34
Other Credits
Less: Cancelled Checks
Less: Other Debits
Less: ACH Debits
Funds Transfers Out
Bank Balance as of July 31, 2022
Transfers to Mutual Fund
Less: Outstanding Checks
Less: Retirement Check Run
Funding Error Adjustment from January
Reconciled Balance as of July 31, 2022
Bank Balance as of August 1, 2022
Deposits to Checking Account
Transfers In
Add: ACH Credit
Other Credits
Less: Cancelled Checks
Less: Other Debits
Less: ACH Debits
Funds Transfers O0_
Bank Balmer of A4# 31, 202
� rx,
Transfers to M a1 Fund
Bank Balan' of Septmber 1, 2022
Deposits to Checr account
Transfers In
Add: ACH Credit
Other Credits
Less: Cancelled Checks
Less: Other Debits
Less: ACH Debits
Funds Transfers Out
Bank Balance as of September 30, 2022
Transfers to Mutual Fund
Less: Outstanding Checks
Less: Retirement Check Run
Transfer in 9ch Period for 10'
48,853.89
(264,348.13)
-0-
(904,762.61)
-0-
$ 155,530.71
-0-
(127,747.93)
(27,537.63)
(245.151
$---f L
.71
-0-
809,7'F
359,677.'
05000.00
536.93)
III
��670.25
(75,500.13)
(176,496.29)
(33,673,83)
$---0--
$ 285,670.25
-0-
-0-
402,632.55
833,216.89
(163,640.95)
-0-
(907,950.78)
(124,363.10)
$ 325,564.86
(75,500.13)
(85,014.63)
(132,836.18)
Reconciled Balance as of September 30, 2022
Bank Balance as of October 1, 2022
Deposits to Checking Account
Transfers In
Add: ACH Credit
Other Credits
Less: Cancelled Checks
Less: Other Debits
Less: ACH Debits
Funds Transfers Out
Bank Balance as of October 31, 2022
Transfers to Mutual Fund
Less: Outstanding Checks
Less: Retirement Check Run
Reconciled Balance as of October 31
Requisitions
Ms. Sloane made a motion to apj
October, and November of 2�2-. It was
No discussion follow
Roll call vote taken.
-.,
Ms. Sloane es, Mr. Flick�(r y
Motion lv
Check
2370
2385
2386
2387
2388
2389
2390
2391
2384
Transfer
Transfer
$ 325,564.86
24.38
-0-
325,913.02
600,505.29
(172,660.87)
-0-
(923,051.37)
-0-
(4
295.31
521.51)
84)
months of August, September,
`tthe requisitions be approved.
; Mr. Sherman — yes; Mrs. Vaughan — yes.
_ Payee
Beth Phillips - VOID
Heather Petruskie
Philip Ziedman
Emilee R McClain
Monike Harrison
Theresa Cooper
Linda Cooper
Washington County Regular Payroll Escrow Account
Washington Co. Cash Disbursement Acct
PNC Bank
Washington Co. Retirement Acct.
Total August 2022 Distributions
Amount
(12,625.37)
6,656.14
234.98
5,952.23
73.99
98,078.81
330.05
22,313.54
26,510.89
81,565.84
946,193.52
1,175,284.62
September 2022
Check
Payee
2392
Corey Bridge
2393
Camellia McGhee
2394
Kelsey Stanford
2395
Hannah Wapiennik
2396
Makayla Henderson
2397
Patricia DeClair
2398
Washington County Regular Payroll Escrow Account
2399
Washington Co. Cash Disbursement ct
Transfer:
PNC Bank
Transfer:
Washington Co. RetireOt-�c
Total September 2�? stributions � ,,,,
Check
n A n A
2412
2411
Transfer:
Transfer:
Jones
)ach
ams
)pars
A
len
Washington County Regular Payroll Escrow Account
Washington Co. Cash Disbursement Acct
PNC Bank
Washington Co. Retirement Acct.
Total October 2022 Distributions
Amount
3,789.98
2,380.94
107.26
2,611.03
363.90
13,021.49
21,042.82
3,042.88
65,918.32
R66i,37_ 1.54
97,65Q.16
Amount
1,986.90
4,946.13
2,780.87
1,843.65
2,047.56
931.07
1,741.39
3,903.68
607.58
2,197.90
59,388.40
20,870.04
9,164.18
79,201.98
867,643.16
1,059,254.49
November 2022
Check
Payee
Amount
2414
Achili Minch
447.58
2415
Dominic Petrocco
477.46
2416
Capital Bank & Trust as a Trustee of IRA of Dean Aaron Petrone Jr
1,838.50
2417
Joseph Condoluci
85,743.84
2418
Joseph Rusnak
88,419.17
2419
Washington County Regular Payroll Escrow Account
20,601.94
2413
Washington Co. Cash Disbursement Acct
40,010.59
Transfer:
PNC Bank
97,537.36
Transfer:
Washington Co. Retirement Acct.
865,403.88
Total November 2022 Distributes
1,059,254.49
Old Business
None.
New Business
MOM
Referring to the meeting's agenda, Mrs
to detail, however, she pointed out there -is no need to
2023 budget. Mrs. Vaughan went on n that a
that the actuary determined amount wou _lw t
stated that Korn Ferry advasp to be put oifte age
been voted on in prev w` meet pd that t pli
Mrs. Vaughan went on (point out f the inforc
day and that Ms- Sloane ha ` ei ' Agwi formatI
_
explain tlirrf tin is i "ant to of m
Vaugh en asked that,°fie fut y GIs. Sloane s
noted her appreciate— tpf April's attention
s,.on stimated nensi osts for the
;soon was passed, more than a year ago,
ntribuf o the pension fund. Ms. Sloane
s VauAI,*countered that it has never
Mn
dvit it did not have to be voted on.
was received by the chief clerk the previous
i October 27a`. Mrs. Vaughan went on to
loners for budgeting purposes. Mrs.
the information to the commissioners when
it is receive
Mrs V n moved on die Korn�`erry fee increase. Ms. Sloane made a motion to accept
9* :
the increase in fees the actua arge from $2859.00 to $2944.00 effective January 1, 2023.
5A
This increase would be rage. Mr. Sherman seconded the motion that the above -mentioned
request be approved. Mrs V%han paused for questions, stating that while the increase is standard,
the information was just received and there was no information ahead of time.
No questions were posed, and no discussion followed.
Roll call vote taken:
Ms. Sloane — yes; Mr. Flickinger — yes; Mr. Maggi — yes; Mr. Sherman — yes; Mrs. Vaughan — yes.
Motion passed unanimously.
Portfolio Presentation — Lee Martin, Ph.D. — Marquette Associates
Mr. Martin opened by stating that the last meeting of the year always begins with a review
the annual database report for Pennsylvania counties. The data in this report is as of 12/31/21 and is
taken from each county's 2022 annual actuarial report. From an assumed rate of return point of
view, about 10 years ago everybody was 7.5 %, although that value has trended downwards because
of the expected lower return environment that played out. Washington County is ahead of everybody
regarding this trend and has the most conservative return assumption of all counties at 6.5%.
Touching on the salary increase assumption, there may be some pressure from Korn Ferry to
start to increase that at some point. Currently, Washington County is using 3.5%. However, 10 to 15
years ago, most used 4.5% because 7.5% was being used as the return assumption. The key is to keep
about a 3% difference between the two, because that is the long-term inflationary impact. The salary
increase assumption looks at the increase in the employee salary over their whole lifetime at the
county. It should not be thought of as an annual merit based but as full life of county employment.
However, because the return assumption is low for Washington County, an increase is less of an
issue than many others because you have a conservative assumption for the expected return.
Last year, only five counties gave COLAs. This is not a great year to be issuing COLAs
during an inflationary environment as the calculation includes the -1 al level for CPI. However,
while there is no look -back provision, even without that, the Q-`-COLAs would be expensive to
funds, long term.
Regarding the asset valuation method, Act 4 s what manY`4es adopted post the great
financial crisis. At the time, Act 44 allowed the uffily to artificially infla assets and therefore,
reduce the ADC. Washington County never adopted act 44 and a result area far better funded
position today as they fully paid the in the yearse great fmancialris. The
w �a
county has always employed the actua ward for asset ation by adopting a five-year
smoothing method taking 1/5 of the ganit-, d loss 1 ,year ove-.r �e-year period.
The most recent aurn, Wa
expect being more convatively i ted. Thi`
aggressive environment `, the as e is over
will be low ly, a ear; * th.
rate of of 7.5%,'aY wn aA -ximately 1,
Thom asted funding-Ti is
standardizes evening by givmr
this, you can compaow well IQ
_
was fully funded at over -,--
ht
littlelow median, as you would
)ugh the f last year and included a very
%. The assumed rate of return is 6.5%, so it
v more in the equities due to higher assumed
s year through September 31 st
of how strong a fund is. The adjusted funded ratio
lone 4% salary increase and 7% investment return. By doing
your plans are. You can now see that Washington County
the end of last year.
Mr. Martin pointed "' at active participants now are under 50%. There are more retirees
than active participants. This is not unusual to see with mature defined benefit plans. However,
because the fund is doing so well, the ADC is coming down and that means the employee
contribution is lower. This means due to fewer active participants relative to retirees there will need
to be more flows out of the fund each year to pay the ever-growing benefit payments. These metrics
are something to be mindful of going forward.
Moving on to the third quarter performance report, Mr. Martin pointed out that the first two
quarters of the year GDP negatively contracted. However, in the third quarter GDP came in above
expectation, growing 2.6%, which was revised even further up this week to 2.9%. This growth came
down primarily to the SPR oil release and its impact from a net export pov. The leading indicators
going forward have declined over 2.5% over the previous six months. When a leading indicator
index begins to decline at such an extent, a recession normally follows.
Mr. Martin transitions to the rate -hiking cycle, pointing out that it is the steepest it's been in
decades. The Fed has tightened its monetary policy to tackle inflation. As stated in previous
meetings, it takes a few quarters to make an impact. This is the reason why we are starting to see
spending slow a lot. There should be at least 50 basis points Fed hike in December. And, depending
on holiday sales and the like, we should have a slower GDP and a slower economy in the fourth
quarter. This could also lead to GDP potentially turning negative in the first and second quarters
again next year. It was negative in the first two quarters of the current year.
Shifting to global economy, Mr. Martin stated that inflation is occurring across the world,
and it seems to be far more of an issue else ware than in the US. The US has a strong dollar right
now and that is helping from any goods that are imported. The rest of the world is doing as the US
has done and attacked inflation through monetary policy. Germany and UK government bond yields
are now at the highest they have been in decades. Europe has links to Russian energy, and this could
be detrimental to European markets this year, especially if we ha
cold winter.
T h
Mr. Martin states that if you have an expected slow the future, equities will sell off
now because equity investments are essentially buying f art-ags. In fact, when expecting a
future recession, it can sometimes a good chance to back into Ot.Mes later into the
recessionary cycle. This is because one would ecting improvemer said recession.
US stocks were down 4.5%, outperformi ernational which wereiW,n 9.5%. Emerging
markets were down 11.5%. However,some of the relate out ��. ormance by the driven by
the strong dollar as well. If you look1 terms, interri 1 markets were only down about
3.6%. This highlights the impact currency pan,hi�on oversevestments. Within equities,
growth equities outperfo p4jvalue for they t time i quart, ,phis essentially happened in
the month of July as 4 J_xeared motion had se and growth stocks rose as
well because they are highly led stocks 'v ewever, that was relatively short lived. By April,
value stocks came back a w-
e= aggreto bonds, dalare down 14.6%. Due to Washington
County sting in shoi atio, d income; that has only been down 9.6% year to date,
outperformore bonds by *n a b vocation within the portfolio. Bank loans, like private
credit, are shgh ositive for th `� arter They don't get impacted by rate movement because they,
rtd
like floating rate boeadjust fields every quarter. High yield also had a strong quarter due to
its shorter duration.
Finally, in inflation sbOtive assets, you are starting to see markdowns within the real estate
market. This is because we appear to be over the worse from rising inflation. You will soon start to
see the private real estate valuations soften as managers more realistically price those assets.
The fund finished the quarter at just under 180 million, losing around 7 million. This loss
equates to about 3.9%. However, this still leaves Washington County in the top 28% of the peer
group. in quarter four the has already made close to 13 million, as equities have gained back about
7%. This leaves the county only down about 7% for the year. Since the growth over the past five
years have been between 10% and 18%, this year's impact will not be too dramatic on the overall
funding ratio in 2023.
Reviewing what has been done, one of the global funds has been removed, helping to reduce
fees. Some fixed income was also removed in the third quarter, and equites were dialed back into.
This helped to rebalance because equities were down and have risen since. Diversification is the
reason so much growth has occurred, investing in not only stocks and bonds, but also real estate,
timber and farmland, private equity, and private credit.
From a performance pov, Washington County sits in and around the benchmark due to being
a little more conservative, particularly over the past five years. The impact of that is noticeable more
recently. The one year is down 10.8% and the policy is down 12.4%. However, the policy is still
ranked in the 231d percentile. There is a good strategy from a policy point of view. The managers
have also been accretive for the fund, leading to a peer group raking in the 14d' percentile, adding
about 2.5% of outperformance last year. If the portfolio had been made up of just stocks and bonds, it
would have been down 17.2% over that same period. This highlights the benefit of diversification.
From a risk point of view, the assists have been brought more in line with the liabilities, bringing the
risk factor (Beta) to .98. Over the past two years, Washington County has outperformed its policy
over the last seven quarters.
Within the US equities, Washington County is defensi
In the one-year number, Twin is down 11.3% relative to 15
to 21 %. Last quarter, they did lag a little because they
side. However, it was the tech and growth that ca
again in the fourth quarter this year.
On the global side, there are three differer
the combination of the last year is do v - A 9.7% re
performing one because value has been letter
are down only 14% whereas the growth rnag�;
over this last quarter, the -myth manager i
nearly 10%. This hay ed ag his quaff
Xl
The internationrtfolio l s more
�n
Schroder is gettip g over 4°ld ort€ v
Om
Y,
benchmu� te_IML T `ed the t
year to . More r e c e nffy the
the strateg ,►n 6.5% relati
There will be a"44A ore disparil
example, Wellington at 7%
has a 1.5% allocation to
Defensive equity is 6fre
8%.
the past
place to
with TWIN and GW&K.
GW&K is down 19.5% relative
the high quality and value
rr. Yet, this has reversed
things, but
& Cox lbeen the better
up until the last quarter. They
% over that period. However,
value manager was down
are allocations to both.
d value because they tend to get great yields.
��. This is an all -cap value strategy, so the
ex Value a little but is in line with the IMI
-.,.
7
i yap overseas allocation. It was a good quarter for
markets were down 14.3% relative to 11.6%.
relative to the benchmark in emerging markets. For
in the fourth quarter. Therefore, Washington County only
The largest allocations are in the core of the portfolio.
area that has been a little disappointing as an asset class over the past
two years. This is due to the heightened volatility, and low yield environment for the base portfolio.
Looking forward for this asset class, is the fact that yields are higher now, so just sitting there gains a
4% for the Treasury Bills. The outlook for the asset class is better looking forward.
Conversely, what has worked well, but is not as likely to work as well moving forward, is the
private real-estate. The one-year number is over 24% when stocks and bonds have been crushed over
that time. This is driven by overweight to the southern region of the US and multifamily, and
industrial. Industrial expansion valuations which have gone up over 50-60%. Multifamily have the
advantage of shorter contracts, shorter rent/lease agreements. When they are rewritten, they are at
higher rates due to the Fed tightening cycle. Last quarter, there were barely positive numbers for
some of these companies. TA posted 1.4%. But these numbers may be slightly negative going
forward. The good news is that the income is going up as well in line with rates. Some cap
appreciation will be given back from the past few years, yet the income should go up because the
yields have been so low. The redemptions that were put into place in June to rebalance some of the
real estate overweight as it was the only asset class that held up in 2022. There is a huge growth area
down south, with new multifamily and offices, are the areas where the markets are migrating to. The
reason there is only a 5% allocation to real-estate is due to having other real assets, such as
infrastructure and timber and farmland. Therefore, there is no need to have as much real estate since
the real assets are diversified across the board. Timber and farmland is positive for the year again
when stocks and bonds are down about 4%. From a real asset point of view, Washington County is
up 4.2%. Infrastructure, like the past year, is up 5.6%.
Mr. Martin finished with the private equity and private credit that were added last year. Over
the past year, private equity is positive. ACWI benchmark is down 20% and Spliced benchmark is
down 15%. Private credit, such as Leveraged loans are down 2.5% this past year leaving private
credit positive. When the market does recover, Washington Con ty:will hold a higher asset value as
the fund has protected more on the downside.
The meeting was adbd at 3 :29
THE FOREGOING MINUTES SITTED -CqR APPRO
2023
M