Patrick J. McClain

The board received reports from the Chief Investment Officer, the Administration & Operations Committee, and the Legislative Committee. Key business included the approval of the closeout of the 2025 budget, changes to the vendor for the Retired Public Safety Officer Insurance Premium Deduction Program, and proposed amendments to Board Rules regarding the Chief Investment Officer's duties and contract approval processes. The board also addressed retirements, death claims, refunds, and disability applications. Furthermore, the meeting involved discussions on pending legislation, an inventory of ERS projects, and conference attendance requests.

The board discussed a comprehensive agenda including the Chief Investment Officer's report and various committee updates. The Administration and Operations Committee presented items regarding the closeout of the 2025 budget, a change of vendor for the Retired Public Safety Officer Insurance Premium Deduction Program, and recommendations following an RFQ for an actuary. The Legislative Committee reviewed proposed amendments to board rules. Additional agenda items covered processing of retirements, death claims, refunds, disability applications, and various administrative reports, including pending legal opinions, litigation updates, and legislative tracking. The session also addressed informational reports on class action income, securities lending revenue, asset allocation, and overall system project inventory.

This document outlines the investment policy for The Employes' Retirement System of the City of Milwaukee, established to provide for present and future retirement, disability, and death/survivor benefits. The policy defines the responsibilities of fiduciaries, sets forth investment goals for maximizing returns within acceptable risk and liquidity, and details asset allocation and rebalancing procedures. It further provides guidelines for selecting and evaluating investment managers, as well as requirements for reporting, proxy voting, brokerage services, and securities lending programs, all while ensuring compliance with applicable regulations and prudent investor standards.

The board meeting agenda focused on several key operational and financial items. Reports were received from the Chief Investment Officer, the Investment Committee, the Administration & Operations Committee, and the Legislative Committee. Specific actions included the consideration and approval of service contracts with CliftonLarsonAllen and DS Consulting, as well as an amendment to Board Rule II.B.2. New business items included a presentation on the 2025 Actuarial Valuation Report, the acceptance of funding policy reports, processing of retirements and death claims, and the approval of member election bulletins. The board also reviewed medical disability applications, legal reports regarding litigation and legislation, and executive director project updates. A closed session was scheduled to consider a management recruitment firm contract.

The meeting focused on the status of the Executive Recruiter Request for Proposal (RFP) and a demonstration of the Bonfire RFP evaluation software. Discussion topics included the distribution of the RFP to various firms, the functionality of the Bonfire platform for storing and evaluating RFP responses, and the potential options for the Committee to participate in the scoring process versus utilizing an in-house scoring panel. The demonstration covered account creation, login procedures, scoring features, and note-taking capabilities within the software.