Blair County: Changes Made to Retirement Fund 'Beneficial'

Blair County announced on Feb. 14 that changes made to the Blair County Employee Retirement Fund in 2018 have “proven beneficial.”

The Blair County Retirement Board, consisting of commissioners Bruce Erb, and Ted Beam and Treasurer Jim Carothers and Controller A.C. Stickel, recently met with Pat Wing of Marquette Associates, Inc. to review the Blair County Employee Retirement Fund’s 2018 fourth quarter Investment Performance Report.

The fund outperformed its policy benchmark for the fourth quarter of 2018 by 0.4 percent. The fund also ranked in the top 33 percent in a national database of public funds of all sizes, given its more conservative approach amid a poor capital markets environment that saw U.S. and global equity markets drop by double digits, according to Wing.

Wing said that the out-performance was due in large part to portfolio changes that the board approved in April last year. Specifically, the board increased the fund’s allocation to core real estate and added an allocation to global listed infrastructure.

These changes increased the diversification of the fund and made it a bit more conservative, providing the fund more downside protection, Wing said.

Since investment policy and investment changes were enacted by the board in late 2014, the fund’s return ranks in the top 34 percent in a national database of public funds of all sizes, county officials said.

In the first month of 2019, the fund generated an investment gain of $1.5 million, representing a return of 5 percent (net of investment management fees).

Wing also provided a fund portfolio review. In it, he noted that the changes approved by the board in 2018 have left the fund’s asset allocation “well-positioned.”

Wing had no recommended changes at this time but will continue to advise the board on new opportunities as they arise.