A meeting of the Governing Board of the Colorado Retirement Association was held on September 16, 2022, at 9:00 a.m.
The following were present at the meeting:
- Chris Felton, Board Chairperson
- Darius Allen, Board Member-Participated by Zoom
- Tobe Allumbaugh, Board Member-Participated by Zoom
- Adam Ford, Board Member
- Jerry DiTullio, Board Member-Participated by Zoom
- Terri Schafer, Board Member-Participated by Zoom
- Tim Mullen, Executive Director
- Ed Krisor, Legal Counsel
- Denis Rice, Chief Financial Officer
- Mike Whalen, Retirement Plan Services Director
- Matt Evans, Retirement Services Coordinator
- Lois Kruse, Office Administrator
Meghan Martinez, Board Member, was not in attendance.
Board Chairperson Chris Felton, called the meeting to order at 9:09 a.m.
Mr. Felton asked members of the Board if they reviewed the minutes from the August 19, 2022 meeting and if there were any comments. There being none, a motion was made by Terri Schafer to approve the minutes as presented. Jerry DiTullio seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mr. Felton abstained from the vote as he was not in attendance at the August meeting.
Entity Qualification Review-Town of Limon:
Tim Mullen gave a brief overview of the Town of Limon noting that they are in Lincoln County and will be joining the CRA 457(b) plan. As the town is currently participating in a defined benefit plan, they are in-eligible for CRA’s 401(a) plan.
Ed Krisor, CRA’s legal counsel, stated that he has reviewed the supplied information and the Town of Limon qualifies to participate in CRA’s 457(b) plan.
Chris Felton moved to allow the Town of Limon to join CRA. Jerry DiTullio seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Financial Update:
Denis Rice began his presentation noting that September 9, 2022, year-to-date (YTD) fund performances ranged from a low of -33.30% (Fidelity Contrafund) to a high of 1.15% (CRA Book Value Fund). CRA’s Alternative Investments, available only within the Target Date Portfolios, performed even better with a low of -16.92% (DFA Emerging Markets Core Equity) and a high of 17.67% (Tortoise MLP & Pipeline Fund I). Comparatively, through September 9, 2022, the S&P was down by 14.66%.
As of August 31, 2022, the YTD blended rate of return for the 401(a) and 457(b) plans is -11.71%.
Loans balances outstanding as of August 31, 2022 for the 401(a) plan are down 6.98% since the beginning of the year with slightly higher average loan balances. 457(b) loan balances are up 3.2%, also with slightly higher average balances.
Effective August 1st, the current loan rate is 6.5%.
Plan YTD distributions exceed contributions by 7.5%. With more than 7,000 retirees in the plans, this is not unexpected.
Denis Rice presented internal Plan and Association financial statements for the fiscal year ended (FYE) June 30, 2022. This discussion reviewed the balance sheets, income statements, budget versus actual, and the Association’s general ledger. It was noted that the CRA’s audited Financial Statements for the FYE June 30, 2022 will be presented at the October Board meeting.
CRA Activity Updates:
Tim Mullen noted CRA is actively pursuing candidates for the open operations position. CRA Client Service Managers (CSMs) are increasing the number of employee and employer in-person visits while adhering to all current pandemic protocols. CRA’s Participant Agreement updates and reviews are ongoing.
The Colorado Public Plans Coalition conference ended September 2nd. CRA was the conference app sponsor and had a display booth as well. The Special Districts Association conference ended September 15th. CRA had a display booth which received a lot of conference traffic.
Mr. Mullen will be attending the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators conference next week.
Fieldwork for the annual audit will begin September 19th.
It was noted CRA renewed it’s cyber security policy with a new vendor.
Tim Mullen discussed ongoing communications with several potential employer groups.
CRA management and Innovest are working on a Request For Proposal (RFP) for recordkeeping services. This RFP is expected to be issued within the next two months.
October is Retirement Security Month. CRA will be creating a campaign internally this year.
Chris Felton began a discussion regarding CRA’s compensation package and how it compares to other companies in the industry. This analysis and comparison will be discussed with the Board at a future date.
Expense Reports:
Chris Felton asked the members of the Board if there were any questions or concerns regarding the expense reports. There being none, the reports were accepted as presented.
The next meeting of the CRA Board of Directors will be held on Friday October 21, 2022.
Chris Felton asked if anyone had any additional questions or items to discuss. There being no further business to come before the Board, Mr. Felton adjourned the meeting at 10:19 a.m.
