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Meriden Retirement Board
Tuesday – March 13, 2007
Overview
In the past ten years, the S&P 500 index has experienced eleven dramatic market sell-offs, plunging 3.3% or more in a single day. Each time, investors worry and market gurus revisit their earlier predictions. The media questions whether stock investing is too risky for average folks, and taxpayer-funded politicians suggest that more regulations and more regulators would be the best way to eliminate investment risk. Such was the case on February 27, 2007.
In the month of March 1997, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 294 points and closed at 6,582.49, representing a loss of 4.3%. Gold prices fell that month from $362 to $348 per ounce. The composite Meriden Retirement funds at the time totaled $144.4 million.
In the past decade, we have experienced a presidential impeachment, the meltdown of technology stocks, the 9/11 attacks, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, several major hurricanes and one tsunami. On February 28, 2007, the Dow closed at 12,268.63 and the Meriden investment accounts totaled $233.4 million. During the past ten-years, the City Employee and Police/Fire investment funds have transferred $41,572,025 to the City to support pension benefit payments.
Meriden Retirement Funds
February’s market downdraft is reflected in the Meriden Retirement funds, although portfolio diversification helped cushion the blow. The composite funds lost 0.6% during February, closing the month with $233.4 million. The City Employees Retirement Fund totaled $132.6 million, and the Police & Fire Pension Funds, $100.8 million. Composite asset allocation remains stable with 75% in equities, 13% fixed income, and 12% in alternatives. The 2007 fiscal year performance through February softened to 8.26% and the Q3TD through March 9 has stalled (+0.01%).
Investment Sub-Committee
The next meeting of the Investment Sub-Committee, on Tuesday, March 27th at 4:00 pm, will include manager reviews presented by Greg Orrell and Louis Navellier. Both are the principals of their namesake investment firms, and together represent management of more than $50 million in Meriden assets. All Board members are urged to attend. The April 24th committee meeting is scheduled to include Neuberger and Roxbury.
Patrick J. Sheehan
Gerald Hazen Glass
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