By Sentinel Staff
New Canaan’s Retirement Plans Advisory Committee reported strong third-quarter investment performance and reviewed the structure and history of the town’s scholarship fund during its meeting Tuesday at Town Hall.
Chairman Chris LeBris called the session to order at 5:30 p.m. with all members present: Steve Doka, Bob Hamill, James Yao, and LeBris. The meeting included First Selectman Dionna Carlson, Chief Financial Officer Anne Kelly-Lenz, Comptroller Diane Wilson, and two representatives from Russell Investments, Justin Owens and Zachary O’Grady.
The committee approved minutes from the May 13 special meeting before receiving a detailed presentation from O’Grady on economic trends and fund performance through September 30.
According to the figures presented, the Funded Retirement Plan held $191,591,890, the OPEB Trust $25,745,699, and the Myledred F. Marcely Memorial Scholarship Fund $1,815,414, for a combined total of $219,153,003. Year-to-date returns were 14.4 percent for both the pension and OPEB funds and 13.3 percent for the Marcely Fund.
O’Grady told the committee that equity markets reached new highs in the third quarter. Owens said the asset reallocation approved in May strengthened performance, noting that adding Emerging Markets, Global Equity, and Infrastructure “contributed positively to returns across all three portfolios.”
Members asked a series of questions regarding fund history, performance, inflows, and risk over time. Several comments focused on the Marcely scholarship portfolio, which has grown while providing annual awards to New Canaan High School graduates. In the discussion, a member stated, “The recipient who’s getting money this year is getting a $42,000 scholarship.” Another member noted the fund’s long-term growth since its creation, saying, “It was seeded… $750,000 to start in this.”
Committee members also discussed how scholarship distributions are structured. One official explained, “Whatever it’s generating goes out as a scholarship,” while another observed that despite tuition costs at many institutions, “It’s a heck of a scholarship for a high school” student.
The committee asked Russell Investments to provide additional long-term historical data and performance context at a future meeting. Owens and O’Grady also described how the firm models future funding needs and conducts periodic asset-liability studies for municipal plans.
The meeting adjourned at 6:21 p.m. following a motion by Doka and a second by Yao, approved unanimously.To keep the fund focused on producing spendable income, officials said the scholarship amount each year is based on interest and dividend income rather than unrealized market gains.
Before adjourning at 6:21 p.m., the committee agreed to ask O’Grady and Owens to give a brief overview of the funds’ performance and recent allocation changes to the full Board of Finance later that evening.
