Angel Dawson, administrator of the Government Employees’ Retirement System, noted on Thursday that community members and retirees were concerned about how GERS investments were performing amid the volatility in the stock market.
In response, Leandro Festino, of Meketa Investment Group, which manages GERS investments, presented a mostly positive report to the GERS board of trustees. Festino said that “despite a difficult environment,” GERS investments were “working well” and not moved by the “day-to-day activity of the stock market.” Trustee Tahmin Clarke questioned the presenter whether “clarity” on whether tariffs would stick or be rescinded would affect investments. Festino said clarity would affect the market but not be a “determinant” concerning GERS investments.
Shawn Bowen, also with Meketa, said the board’s investment moves last year were profitable.
Festino said the investment plan was based on the GERS rescue plan, which involved infusing $158 million into the system each of the first three years and then dropping the annual infusion to $80 million.
Meketa manages $438 million in investments. This year’s fees are .03 percent, or $116,000.
Festino said investments earned 24 percent overall in fiscal year 2024, up from 8 percent in 2023 and much better than in 2022, when investments lost 10 percent.
Glennville Henderson, an investment analyst with GERS, said GERS’ assets now total $505 million, including the Havensight Mall, valued at $59 million.
Festino said GERS suffered losses, but the overall portfolio looked strong.
After the meeting, GERS issued a press release in which Dawson said he acknowledged general anxiety in the domestic and international financial markets but emphasized that “GERS is currently well diversified across eight asset classes.” He continued, “At a high level, the GERS targets investing 55 percent of its securities portfolio in public equity and 45 percent in public fixed income/bonds. This strategy helps mitigate against the large equity market swings we currently see to start calendar year 2025.”
Dawson noted something at the meeting that is not volatile. He said that the number of retirees added to the system is often close to the number deleted.
The number of retirees added to payroll from Oct. 1 to April 15 is 164, while the number of retirees deleted from payroll for the same period was 159.
In the last payroll, the gross retiree payroll was $11,331,513.27.
According to Dawson, the GERS loan program, available to active employees, will soon be expanded to include retirees. He said the 8 percent loan guarantee was a good strategy with volatile markets.
Trustees Dwane Callwood, Leona Smith, Vincent Liger, and Andre Dorsey attended the meeting. Ronald Russell was absent
