[00:00:01]
ALL RIGHT.THIS IS THE DEFERRED COMPENSATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT.
WE ARE MEETING ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 11TH, 2024, BEGINNING AT 2 0 4 ISH.
[Roll Call]
SECRETARY PLEASE CALL THE ROLE? SURE.THIS IS, UH, CONNIE SWISHER, RECORDING SECRETARY, TAKING ROLE.
UH, TODAY'S CHAIR WILL BE DEBORAH SPALDING.
UH, PRESENT, UH, MONICA ALVAREZ.
AND ALTERNATE WOULD BE GRANT BOYEN HERE.
UH, THIS MEETING IS BEING HELD PURSUANT TO THE BROWN ACT.
WE ARE PROVIDING LIVE VIDEO AND AUDIO STREAMING.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WISHING TO MAKE A PUBLIC COMMENT CAN DO SO IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS, WAYS, UH, LIVE IN PERSON OR VIA THIS ZOOM MEETING BY SUBMITTING AN EMAIL OR BY LEAVING A VOICEMAIL.
THIS INFORMATION IS NOTED ON THE AGENDA LOCATING AT THE PARK DISTRICT WEBSITE, EEB PARKS.ORG.
IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS, UM, WE CAN PROCEED.
[Approval of Minutes]
ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY IS APPROVAL OF MINUTES.UH, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? NO.
UM, HAS EVERYONE HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE MINUTES? YES.
DOES ANYONE WANNA MOVE? SO MOVED.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I SECOND.
UM, MOVED BY PEOPLE AND SECONDED BY MONICA ALVAREZ.
UH, NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA.
ITEM FOUR, ACTION ITEMS. WE HAVE NO ACTION ITEMS TODAY, SO EVERYTHING IS INFORMATIONAL.
[Informational Items]
MOVING ON TO ITEM FIVE, WHICH IS INFORMATIONAL ITEMS. SO, UM, OUR FIRST, UH, ITEM UNDER INFORMATIONAL ITEMS IS LETTER A PROPOSED INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT, PROPOSED EMPOWER FUND LINEUP, AND DISCUSSION OF TIMELINE FOR TRANSITION.SO, UM, I'LL START OFF BY TALKING US THROUGH OUR INVESTMENT POLICY STATEMENT, WHICH, WHERE IS MY COPY HERE? UM, SO YOU ALL I BELIEVE HAVE A HARD COPY OF THIS IN FRONT OF YOU.
UM, SO I'M GONNA START OUT WITH THE PREAMBLE.
SO THIS WAS REVIEWED BY THE DEFERRED COMP, UH, ADVISORY COMMITTEE AT OUR LAST MEETING IN, I BELIEVE IT WAS NOVEMBER.
UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE BROUGHT IT TO THE, THAT I BROUGHT IT TO THE DEFERRED COMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE WAS ALSO PROVIDED TO LEGAL.
AND SO IT WAS BEING REVIEWED BY BOTH AT THE SAME TIME.
UM, AND SO IN, AND, AND, AND WE ALSO WERE WORKING THROUGH SOME THINGS WITH, OR NO, I GUESS WE HAVEN'T.
ANYHOW, UM, SO BOTH, WE GOT EDITS BACK FROM THE DEFERRED COMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND, UH, SENT THIS OUT TO GENERAL COUNSEL.
AND WE JUST RECENTLY RECEIVED THE EDITS BACK FROM OUR OUTSIDE COUNSEL.
AND THERE ARE, UM, IT'S QUITE DIFFERENT, THIS VERSION THAT WE GOT BACK.
AND SO I WANNA WALK THROUGH WHY THIS IS, AND UM, AND THEN ALSO YOU NOTICE IT STILL SAYS DRAFT ON THIS.
SO IT'S, IT'S ALSO NOT QUITE FINALIZED.
SO THE REASON IT'S VERY DIFFERENT IS THAT, UH, WHEN THE OUTSIDE COUNSEL TOOK A LOOK AT THIS, UM, THEY WANTED TO, UH, MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE FIDUCIARY IS THE BOARD AND THAT THE DEFERRED COMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE HAS BEEN VERY CLEAR THAT THEY DO NOT WANNA HAVE THAT FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY.
AND SO WHAT WE HAD DONE AT OUR MEETING WHEN WE REVIEWED IT IN NOVEMBER, WAS WE HAD CAREFUL, WELL, WHAT WE THOUGHT WE HAD DONE IS LIKE CAREFULLY INSERTED HOW THE DEFERRED COMP COMMITTEE WOULD BE AND SERVING IN AN ADVISORY CAPACITY.
UM, BUT THE RECOMMENDATION IS THAT WOULD STILL PUT US, PUT THE COMMITTEE SORT OF LIKE IN THE LINE OF FIRE, THAT WE WOULD STILL HAVE SOME FIDUCIARY EXPOSURE IF WE WERE ADVISING.
AND SO THIS VERSION IS SQUARELY PUTTING THE RESPONSIBILITY ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
SO THAT'S A BIG CHANGE FROM WHAT WE HAD LOOKED AT BEFORE.
UM, SO IT'S ALSO NOW JUST THIS IS, UM, AN INFORMATIONAL ITEM, WHEREAS BEFORE WE WERE TAKING ACTION ON IT.
BUT IN FACT, IF THIS IS NOT, IF THE DEFERRED COMP COMMITTEE IS NOT IN A FIDUCIARY ROLE, THEN WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE, THEN WE CAN'T TAKE ACTION ON THIS ITEM.
UM, AGAIN, IT'S STILL IN DRAFT FORM BECAUSE IT JUST CAME BACK FROM THE OUTSIDE COUNSEL AND WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH IT.
AND I JUST SENT IT TO BILL, UH, TODAY.
AND SO THEY NEED TO TAKE IT BACK AND, UM, LOOK THROUGH IT THEMSELVES.
AND, UM, SO, SO IT'S IN DRAFT FORMAT NOW, BUT, UM, BUT HERE IT'S, DO WE
[00:05:01]
KNOW IF THE BOARD HAS SEEN IT SINCE THE CHANGES WERE MADE? THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF DIRECTORS? NO, NO, NO.YEAH, SO THE, UM, BOARD WILL BE SEEING IT ON FEBRUARY 6TH AT THE FEBRUARY 6TH BOARD MEETING.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WITH THIS.
AND, UM, YEAH, WE CAN, BILL AND I HAVE TALKED VERY BRIEFLY ON WHAT SOME OF THE CHANGES ARE.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE, I GUESS YOU GUYS HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK THROUGH IT, BUT IT'S THE, THE FORMAT, LIKE THE LAYOUT OF, OF WHERE THINGS ARE IS THE SAME.
BUT YOU'LL SEE, LIKE IF YOU FLIP TO PAGE THREE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES, IT CLEARLY LINES UP WHAT THE BOARD IS.
THE BOARD IS A NAMED FIDUCIARY FOR THE PLAN AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, AND IT LISTS OUT WHAT THE BOARD'S, UH, RESPONSIBILITIES ARE THERE.
UM, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO GET A VERSION THAT INDICATED OR HIGHLIGHTED IN SOME WAY THAT, THAT RECENT CHANGES SINCE THE LAST TIME WE LOOKED AT IT? YES.
SO WE, WE, UM, DID NOT PROVIDE A RED LINE CO COPY 'CAUSE IT'S, SO, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF RED LINE IN IT.
UM, BUT WE DO HAVE A RED LINE VERSION, AND ONCE THIS ISN'T IN DRAFT FORM, WE CAN SHARE THAT RED LINE COPY.
BUT SINCE IT'S LIKE NOT QUITE FULLY BAKED, WE'RE SENDING, WE'RE GIVING YOU A CLEAN ONE 'CAUSE IT'S EASIER TO SEE.
UM, IS THERE ANY WAY YOU CAN EMAIL US ONE BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING? I MEAN, IT'S REALLY HARD TO KNOW WHAT, YEAH.
ONCE IT'S, YES, A HUNDRED PERCENT AGREE.
ONCE IT'S NOT IN DRAFT FORM, WE CAN SHARE WHAT THE RED LINE VERSION IS.
DOES THAT MEAN ONCE IT'S APPROVED BY THE BOARD? NO, NO, IT'LL BE BEFORE THEN.
SO TRYING TO MAKE IT LIKE EASIER TO READ BY GIVING YOU A CLEAN COPY.
UM, AND ALSO UNTIL IT'S, UNTIL IT IS FULLY BAKED, UM, I GUESS DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO GO THROUGH WITH TOO MUCH, UM, ENERGY TO LIKE SEE WHAT'S CHANGED SINCE IT'S NOT FINAL.
WELL, IT WOULD BE, I UNDERSTAND THAT, AND THAT THAT SEEMS PERFECTLY SENSIBLE, BUT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO GET YES.
A COPY WHAT THE CHANGES BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING SO WE CAN YES.
IT'S REALLY HARD TO DO FROM JUST THIS.
UM, YEAH, I FEEL LIKE I DON'T WANNA GET INTO THIS TOO MUCH SINCE AGAIN, IT'S STILL IN DRAFT FORMAT.
UM, BUT THERE ARE TWO OTHER, UH, UNLESS PEOPLE HAVE QUESTIONS OR, OR WELL, WHAT WERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES, CHANGING IT TO HAVE THE BOARD AS THE FIDUCIARY IS THE BIG CHANGE.
SO THAT PART I WAS POINTING OUT ON PAGE THREE WHERE IT SAYS ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
THE BOARD IS, UM, IDENTIFIED THERE AS THE FIDUCIARY.
AND I, AND I WOULD SAY FROM MY READ THROUGH IT, UM, THAT'S THE BIGGEST CHANGE.
UM, IT'S, IT'S A MORE ROBUST IPS.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT MORE EXPLANATION OF, OF THINGS THAT WE HAD IN THE OTHER ONE.
UM, I, I DON'T SEE ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY, I WOULD SAY.
NO, NOTHING JUMPED OUT FOR THE PAGE.
THERE'S A COUPLE OF LITTLE THINGS, UH, THERE'S A COUPLE OF REFERENCES TO ERISA, UM, BUT IT'S SIMILAR TO ERISA.
UM, SO THAT I THINK WILL JUST KIND OF, I DON'T SAY DEBATE, MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR, FOR A, A PUBLIC PLAN.
UM, A COUPLE OF MONITORING STATISTICS.
THIS MENTIONS BATTING AVERAGE AND INFORMATION RATIO, WHICH WASN'T IN THE OTHER, THE OTHER IPS, THEY'RE FAIRLY COMMON.
UM, I NEED TO JUST DOUBLE CHECK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN TRACK IN OUR PERFORMANCE SOFTWARE.
UM, AND PROXY VOTING IS, IS MENTIONED HERE.
SO THERE'S A FEW THINGS LIKE THAT.
IT'S NOT TO THE LEVEL OF, OF WHO'S THE NAME FIDUCIARY.
BUT I THINK THAT WE WILL KIND OF FLESH OUT THOSE FEW LITTLE DETAILS.
AND THEN IT'LL BE IN THE, IN THE, I DUNNO IF YOU CALL IT FINAL FORM, NOT DRAFT FORM, RIGHT.
WHERE WE CAN, WE CAN SEND IT OUT.
IN TERMS OF THIS COMMITTEE'S RESPONSIBILITIES, WHAT ARE THE MAJOR CHANGES? I THINK WHAT DEB POINTED OUT WAS THE, THE CHANGING OF THE FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY, WHICH WAS SOMETHING THAT WE ALL SPOKE OF, NOT WANTING IT TO BE ON THE, THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
IS THAT, WHAT, IS THAT ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION? I FEEL LIKE YOU'RE ASKING SOMETHING ELSE.
WELL, WE, WE'VE NEVER REAL, THIS COMMITTEE HAS NEVER REALLY HAD FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY THAT I'M AWARE OF.
SO WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE, THE OTHER CHANGES
[00:10:01]
THAT WERE MADE, THE SIGNIFICANT ONES TO THIS COMMITTEE'S RESPONSIBILITY? YES.IN THIS VERSUS THE PREVIOUS DRAFT, I GUESS IS WHAT MY QUESTION IS.
SO THE PREVIOUS VASH, THE PREVIOUS DRAFT, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU REMEMBER, BUT WE WENT THROUGH AND WE, WE PUT IN THE DEFERRED COMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE AS AN ADVISOR TO THE BOARD ON MANY THINGS THROUGHOUT.
AND THAT'S NOW, THERE'S NO, THERE'S NO REFERENCE OF THE DEFERRED COMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE ADVISING ON INVESTMENTS IN THIS VERSION.
I'M A LITTLE FUZZY ON WHAT THE ACTUAL FUNCTION OF THE COMMITTEE MOVING FORWARD IS GONNA BE.
WELL, I, I THINK THAT'S BEEN THE QUESTION FOR OVER A YEAR NOW,
BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY ABOUT THE PLAN ITSELF.
UM, AND WE WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT THE BOARD IS IN FACT THE FIDUCIARY.
I THINK THAT'S, I MEAN, AS FAR AS ANSWERING YOUR QUESTION, THAT'S THE BIG CHANGE.
SO THE DEFERRED COMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE IS NOT GOING TO HAVE THAT ADVISORY ROLE ON INVESTMENTS BECAUSE IT DOES PUT US IN A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY.
AND THEN AS FAR AS WHAT'S THE ROLE OF THE DEFERRED COMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT WE NEED TO FLESH OUT? SO IS IT JUST INVESTMENTS THAT WE CAN'T ADVISE ABOUT OR ARE THERE OTHER THINGS AS WELL? I FEEL LIKE THAT'S A QUESTION THAT'S BEYOND MY, UH, CAPACITY TO, TO ANSWER.
BUT I MEAN, I THINK FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY, CERTAINLY WE WOULD HAVE IT IF WE WERE ADVISING ON INVESTMENTS.
IT SEEMS THAT THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO STAY AWAY FROM FOR SURE.
WELL, IT'LL BE GOOD TO SEE THE, THE CHANGES THAT WILL SHED SOME LIGHT ON IT.
SO NEXT ON THE AGENDA, WE HAVE THE EMPOWER FUND LINEUP.
SO AGAIN, THIS IS A DRAFT, UM, AND IT'S RATHER SMALL, BUT I'LL HAND THIS OUT TO, IS IT ONE? YEAH, JUST ONE PAGE.
UM, EXTRA COPIES FOR, SO ON THE LEFT SIDE, AND THIS IS VERY SMALL, BUT HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS CAN SEE IT ALL RIGHT.
ON THE LEFT SIDE ARE THE, UM, CURRENT INVESTMENTS WITH MISSION SQUARE AND, UM, THE MORNINGSTAR CATEGORY, THE EXPENSE RATIO, AND THEN TOTAL PLAN ASSETS.
AND THEN THAT NEXT CATEGORY COST IS SHOWING BASED ON THE EXPENSE RATIO AND THE TOTAL PLAN ASSETS, HOW MUCH IS BEING PAID IN FEES, UH, THROUGH MISSION SQUARE.
AND THEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE ARE THE PROPOSED FUNDS THAT WOULD MATCH UP.
SO IF YOU READ ACROSS, I GUESS JUST TAKING THE FIRST ONE, UH, MSQ CASH MANAGEMENT FUND R FIVE, UM, THAT IS GOING TO MAP TO GUARANTEED INCOME FUND.
UM, AND SO THERE IS NO EXPENSE RATIO ON THAT FUND, AND THAT'S WHY THERE'S NO COST IN THAT FINAL CATEGORY, IS THAT RIGHT? OKAY.
DO WE KNOW HOW THE GUARANTEED RATES COMPARE BETWEEN, UH, MISSION SQUARE AND EMPOWER FROM THE EMPLOYEE POINT OF VIEW OR FROM THE PARTICIPANT POINT OF VIEW? SO, ON THE PLUS FUND, I THINK IS VERY CLOSE.
I'M NOT, I'M ENTIRELY SURE THE CURRENT RATE ON THE PLUS FUND, UM, THE CURRENT RATE ON THE GUARANTEED INCOME FUND IS 3.35%.
SO I THINK THAT SHOULD BE PRETTY CLOSE TO THE PLUS FUND, MAYBE A LITTLE BETTER.
THE CASH MANAGEMENT FUND, WHICH I THINK IS A, IS A, IS A MONEY MARKET FUND.
UM, THE MONEY MARKET FUND SHOULD BE PAYING MORE THAN THAT RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THE BIG INCREASE WE'VE SEEN IN RATES, UM, HISTORICALLY AND WHAT I'LL CALL A NORMAL RATE ENVIRONMENT, UM, THAT WILL PAY LESS THAN THE GUARANTEE IN YOUR EMPLOYMENT.
WE'RE IN A LITTLE BIT OF A, WE'RE IN A LITTLE BIT OF AN ODD TIME AS FAR AS MONEY MARKET RATES GO RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE EXTREMELY HIGH.
UM, BUT, BUT YEAH, ONCE WE GET SETTLED
[00:15:01]
BACK TO A MORE NORMAL ENVIRONMENT, THE, THE GUARANTEED INCOME FUND, WE'LL PAY HIGHER THAN WAS THAT, WAS THAT YOUR QUESTION, PETE? UH, THAT'S HELPFUL.AND, AND JUST BACKGROUND ON THE, ON THE LINEUP.
SO, UM, SO I PUT THE LINEUP TOGETHER.
UM, YOU KNOW, I STARTED WITH WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU'VE GOT NOW THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE AND, AND TRIED TO, I DON'T WANNA SAY MIMIC, BUT, BUT PROVIDE KIND OF THE SAME ASSET CLASSES, UM, WITH THE GOAL OF REDUCING THE NUMBER OF FUNDS.
UH, YOU KNOW, IF THAT'S, IF THERE'S, IF THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS WE'VE SEEN OVER THE PAST, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS, IT IS, UM, MAKING THINGS LESS EXPENSIVE FOR, FOR PARTICIPANTS AND MAKING THINGS EASIER FOR PARTICIPANTS.
SO NORMALLY THE WAY WE SEE THAT DONE IS, IS REDUCING THE NUMBER OF OPTIONS, UM, STILL ENOUGH OPTIONS THAT THEY CAN CREATE, UM, A, UH, ASSET ALLOCATION OF PORTFOLIO THAT HITS ALL OF THE, ALL OF THE POINTS ON THE INVESTMENT SPECTRUM, THE RISK RETURN SPECTRUM, BUT NOT TOO MANY OPTIONS THAT THEY KIND OF BECOME OVERWHELMED WITH CHOICES.
RIGHT? I, I, IDEALLY, I LIKE TO AVOID GIVING PARTICIPANTS AN EXTRA STEP, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF THEY DO EVERYTHING WE ASK THEM TO AND, AND REALLY TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME AND LOOK AT THE ALLOCATION AND, AND SAY, OKAY, I'VE GONE THROUGH THE EDUCATION STEPS AND, AND I THINK I NEED 10% IN, IN LARGE CAP GROWTH.
I DON'T WANT TO GIVE THEM AN EXTRA STEP OF, I'VE GOT THREE LARGE CAP GROWTH FUNDS.
OKAY, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE THREE? SO, SO I TRY TO KEEP ONE IN, IN EVERY MAJOR CATEGORY JUST TO KIND OF MAKE IT EASIER.
SO WHEN YOU COME DOWN THE LIST ON THE RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THE NAMES REPEATED.
IT'S JUST A, A MATTER OF, HEY, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF SEE A COUPLE OF 'EM, UH, CLOSE TOGETHER.
YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK THERE WAS A FEW LARGE CAP VALUE FUNDS.
THE MISSION SQUARE EQUITY INCOME FUND, KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE THAT'S GOING TO PUTNAM LARGE VALUE, THE BLACKROCK DEBT EQUITY DIVIDEND A LITTLE FARTHER DOWN IS GOING TO PUT PUTNAM LARGE CAP VALUE.
WE'RE JUST KIND OF CONSOLIDATING THE LINEUP A LITTLE BIT.
SO I THINK IT'LL BE EASIER FROM THAT STANDPOINT FOR PARTICIPANTS.
THE OTHER OTHER HEADLINE TO THAT, I GUESS IF YOU LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE, UM, FROM AN EXPENSE STANDPOINT, IT'S A, IT'S A COUPLE OF HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS LESS THAN, THAN WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE PAYING NOW IN, IN INVESTMENT EXPENSE RATIO.
NOW, A PART OF THAT IS THE GUARANTEED INCOME FUND IS A SPREAD FUND, RIGHT? IT DOESN'T HAVE AN EXPLICIT EXPENSE RATIO.
UM, IT'S, IT'S GOT A GUARANTEED RATE.
SO IF YOU ADD THAT BACK, WHAT THEY'RE PAYING NOW, YOU KNOW THAT IT'S ABOUT $120,000 IN COST SAVINGS SOMEWHERE IN THAT BALLPARK, I THINK.
SO CERTAINLY SAVINGS FROM, FROM WHERE THEY ARE NOW, UM, A SIMPLER LINEUP AS, AS FAR AS NUMBER OF OF FUNDS.
UM, BUT I THINK STILL A REALLY ROBUST LINEUP.
SO I KNOW WE HAD GONE BACK AND ADDED AN ESG FUND.
UM, IF THERE'S SOMETHING YOU THINK THEY WILL WANT MORE AROUND THAT, WE COULD CERTAINLY DO THAT.
UM, I ADDED THE, THE ESG FUND THAT I ADDED IS AT THE, AT THE BOTTOM, IT'S THE, UH, CALVERT INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIVE RESPONSIBLE INDEX.
IT'S, IT'S LISTED AT THE BOTTOM.
IT'S ALSO LISTED PROBABLY NINE OR 10 FUNDS ABOVE THAT.
THE PARNASSUS CORE EQUITY FUND THAT'S IN THE PLAN NOW IS A, IS AN, IS AN ESG FUND.
UM, I USED AN INDEX FUND LESS FROM A COST STANDPOINT, UM, WITH THE ESG, A LOT OF TIMES ESG MEANS, I'M SORRY, CAN I INTERRUPT YOU? JUST ESG IS WHAT IT IS.
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE.
WHAT USED TO BE CALLED SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FUNDS NOW HAS THE ESG MONIKER.
OH, NO, IT'S, THAT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT FOR EVERYBODY, HOW EVERYBODY DEFINES THAT, RIGHT? SO I ALWAYS SUGGEST IF, IF YOU'RE GONNA HAVE THAT AS A CORE FUND IN THE LINEUP, I WOULD TAKE THE INDEX ROUTE, AND THAT WAY IT'S EASY TO TRACK.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR MONITORING IS GONNA BE IS IT, IS THE PERFORMANCE OF THE FUND TRACKING THAT, THAT, UM, THAT CALVERT ESG INDEX.
THE, THE ISSUE WITH, WITH ESG FUNDS, IN MY MIND, IS IT ADDS, IT ADDS A MONITORING CRITERIA THAT'S NOT JUST INVESTMENTS, RIGHT? WITH ANYTHING ELSE.
WE HAVE CERTAIN, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT PERFORMANCE, WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT RISK MEASURE AND THINGS ALONG THAT LINE WITH A ESG OR A SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FUND.
IT KIND OF ADDS A DIFFERENT LAYER TO THAT.
SO THAT'S WHY I ALWAYS SUGGEST THE INDEX.
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YOU HAVE A NOTION ROUGHLY WHAT THE PRE THE, THE MISSION SQUARE NUMBER OF OPTIONS WILL BE COMPARED TO THE EMPOWER NUMBER OF OPTIONS? UM, I THINK THE MISSION SQUARE, WE WERE AT ABOUT 44 NOW, IF I REMEMBER RIGHT.AND I THINK WE ENDED AT 27 OR 28.
UM, SO STILL A REALLY ROBUST LINEUP.
IT HITS ALL OF THE CATEGORIES, BUT JUST WE, WE'VE TAKEN THAT OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF ELIMINATE SOME OF THE REDUNDANCY IN, IN SOME OF THE CATEGORIES.
QUICK QUESTION WAS, WAS THE INVESTMENT RECOMMENDATION BASED ON INVESTMENT, UM, IMPROVEMENTS, OR WAS IT BASED ON PARTICIPANT INFORMATION? SO IF YOU SAW MAJORITY OF OUR PARTICIPANTS WERE IN THIS TYPE OF FUND, YOU LOOKED FOR SOMETHING EQUIVALENT, BUT MAYBE THE OTHER ONES THAT WEREN'T BEING USED? WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T FIND A MATCHING, I DON'T THINK I HAD NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS.
I HAD ASSETS, THE, THE ASSETS THAT WERE THERE.
SO, SO FUNDS THAT, FUNDS THAT HAD A LOT OF ASSETS.
UM, IF THEY WERE REALLY GOOD PERFORMING FUNDS, I TRIED TO KEEP THEM.
UM, OTHER THAN THAT, IT'S, IT'S MORE FROM AN INVESTMENT STANDPOINT, RIGHT? UM, SO IF THERE WAS A FUND THAT, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT WAS A TWO OR THREE STAR FUND FROM MORNINGSTAR, AND I KNOW, HEY, THIS, THIS FUND IN THIS CATEGORY HAS BEEN A BETTER PERFORMER.
I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO MAKE THAT CHANGE.
THERE WAS ONE FUND, UM, I WAS TELLING DEB BEFORE THIS, UM, THE A MG TIMES SQUARE FUND, WHICH IS IN THE LINEUP NOW, UM, KIND OF TOWARDS THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE, M-S-Q-A-M-G TIMES SQUARE, UM, THAT FUND IS, FUND IS CLOSED, AND A MG WOULD NOT ALLOW US TO MAP IT OVER.
SO FOR THAT, WHEN YOU'LL SEE A, THE TOUCHSTONE MID-CAP GROWTH FUND, UM, TOUCHSTONE THAT MIDCAP FUND'S A, A REALLY GOOD FUND, REALLY CONSISTENT PERFORMER, I THINK IT'S, IT'S FOUR STARS FROM MORNINGSTAR CURRENTLY.
UM, WE DID HAVE THAT ONE INSTANCE WHERE THERE WAS A FUND THAT, THAT JUST COULDN'T COME OVER.
NOW TO SOMEWHAT GET AROUND THAT, UM, WHEN WE PUT TOGETHER, WHEN I PUT TOGETHER THE LINEUP, ORIGINALLY THERE WERE THREE OR FOUR OPPORTUNITIES TO USE, UM, ONE OF OUR INSTITUTIONAL SEPARATE ACCOUNTS.
SO IF YOU SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE, THE FIRST PROBABLY 20 OR MORE FUNDS, UM, IF YOU LOOK IN THERE WHERE IT SAYS MORNINGSTAR CATEGORY, IT STARTS WITH USSA.
THOSE ARE SEPARATE ACCOUNTS WITH MISSION SQUARE.
NOW WE HAVE THE, THE SAME TYPE OF SEPARATE ACCOUNT, UM, THAT WE IN INHERITED WITH THE, WITH THROUGH PRUDENTIAL ACQUISITION, UM, LAST YEAR.
UM, SO IT'S JUST REALLY, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE YOU, OR GIVE PARTICIPANTS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME FUND.
SO IT'S THE SAME MANAGER, SAME INVESTMENT PROCESS, JUST IN A LESS EXPENSIVE VEHICLE.
SO THERE WILL BE THREE OR FOUR FUNDS.
SO, UM, I MENTIONED THAT THAT WAS PART OF THE PRUDENTIAL ACQUISITION.
UM, PRUDENTIAL HAD A PLATFORM OF ABOUT 110 OR SO OF THESE SEPARATE ACCOUNTS, AND THEY'VE BEEN UP FOR, UP AND RUNNING FOR 30 YEARS PLUS.
UM, THEY ARE ALL MOVING, THAT ENTIRE PLATFORM IS MOVING OVER TO OUR RECORD KEEPING SYSTEM ON MARCH 31ST.
SO WE'RE IN A LITTLE BIT OF A PERIOD WHERE WE CAN'T ADD THEM.
SO A LITTLE LATER THIS YEAR, ONCE ASSETS ARE TRANSFERRED, THE PLAN'S UP AND RUNNING AND EVERYTHING, WE'LL COME BACK AND WE CAN MAKE THOSE CHANGES IF, IF THE BOARD WANTS TO.
UM, AND IT'LL JUST PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE COST SAVINGS FOR PARTICIPANTS.
WE JUST, IDEALLY, WE'D LOVE TO JUST DO IT NOW AT TRANSITION.
THE TIMING JUST DIDN'T WORK OUT TO DO THAT.
SO YEAH, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE SEPARATE ACCOUNTS.
WE, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GROWING TO US, IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A WIN-WIN, RIGHT? IT'S, IT'S THE SAME, ESSENTIALLY THE SAME FUND THAT PARTICIPANTS HAVE NOW JUST A, A, A, A LESS EXPENSIVE VERSION OF IT.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO NOT ONLY MATCH THOSE, THOSE FUNDS TO THOSE SEPARATE ACCOUNTS NOW, BUT WE ARE GOING BACK TO ASSET MANAGERS AND SAYING, HEY, WE'D LOVE TO DO MORE OF THESE, YOU KNOW, WHEREVER WE CAN SAVE PARTICIPANTS COSTS, THAT'S A, THAT'S A PLUS, YOU KNOW, IN OUR MIND.
SO, SO THAT 110 I THINK WILL PROBABLY GROW, HOPEFULLY EXPONENTIALLY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.
UM, ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE LINEUP? YEAH.
WHEN IS THIS LINEUP, WHEN IS IT GONNA BE SOLIDIFIED? IS
[00:25:01]
THAT LIKE WAY DOWN THE FUTURE IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS? UM, I WOULD SAY PROBABLY VERY SOON.UM, SO I THINK YOU'VE GOT THE PLAN SPONSOR, THE BOARD.
I MEAN, I'M ASSUMING THE BOARD NOW HAS TO SIGN OFF ON IT OFFICIALLY.
SO THAT LIST IS, IS IN PLACE, UM, THAT HAS TO BE DONE FEBRUARY 6TH.
UM, I, I DO LIKE THAT A LOT OF THE TARGET DATE FUNDS FOR OUR EMPLOYEES THAT SIMPLIFIES THINGS AND, AND CUTS EXPENSES, UM, WHICH HELPS PEOPLE THAT DON'T WANT TO ACTIVELY MANAGE THEIR, THEIR, UH, THAT PORTFOLIO HELP A LOT.
UM, I DID NOTICE ON QUITE A FEW OF THE GROWTH FUNDS THAT TRANSFER OVER THE EXPENSE RATIO ACTUALLY WENT UP WITH THE, UM, UM, LIKE THE PUTMAN LARGE CAP, THE EMPOWER LARGE CAP, UH, TOUCHSTONE MID CAP OR YEAH, TOUCHSTONE MID CAP GROWTH.
UM, THE EXPENSE RATIO WENT UP ON EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE TRANSITIONS.
THE TOUCHSTONE, UM, WILL BE REPLACED WITH AN ISA.
AND ACTUALLY WE HAVE AN ISA VERSION OF THAT A MG TIMES SQUARE FUND THAT WE CAN'T USE THE FUND, WE CAN USE THE ISA IF WE END UP, AND THAT WILL, SO THAT WILL BE LESS, UM, WE ARE STARTING ISAS FOR PUTNAM VALUE.
UM, AND I THINK THE EMPOWER LARGE GROWTH WAS A FEW BASIS POINTS HIGHER, BUT THE PERFORMANCE WAS CONSIDERABLY BETTER.
UM, AND IS THERE, MAYBE I'M MISSING IT, IS THERE LIKE A TOTAL INDEX FUND IN THIS DRAFT OR, UM, SO LIKE A RUSSELL 3000 INDEX? YEAH.
UM, THERE ISN'T, BUT THERE COULD BE IF YOU GUYS WANT IT.
SO I MATCHED UP, YEAH, I THINK I MATCHED UP THE INDEXES THAT YOU HAD.
SO I THINK SMALL, MID AND S AND P 500, UM, THERE'S A TOTAL INTERNATIONAL STOCK.
I'M JUST THINKING LIKE EQUIVALENT OF LIKE A VTI OR LIKE A TOTAL STOCK MARKET FUND.
BUT YEAH, SO, SO IF WE WANTED TO ADD, SAY, THE, THE VANGUARD TOTAL STOCK MARKET, NO, NO PROBLEM.
IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WANT TO, I KNOW THIS ISN'T OFFICIAL CAPACITY, RIGHT? BUT I CAN ADD IT
YEAH, I THINK THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HAVING THAT, SO THAT'S GREAT.
AND IDEALLY, LIKE I SAID, WE'LL, WE WILL BE MAKING A CHANGE FROM A FEW OF THESE TO AN ISA VERSION LATER THIS YEAR.
SO IF YOU GET FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPANTS, HEY, I'D LIKE TO SEE THIS, WE CAN TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, TO ADD IT THEN TOO, IF, 'CAUSE THAT WOULD BE A, THAT WOULD BE A, A, A FUND CHANGE.
AND THEN MOVING ON IN THE FUTURE, SAY A COUPLE YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, ARE WE ABLE TO MAKE CHANGES TO THIS? THE FUND LINEUP OR, YEAH.
SO IT'S NOT, UM, NOT A GROUP ANNUITY CONTRACT.
UM, SO IT'S NOT A A, A SET LINEUP IF, IF YOU GUYS SAY, HEY, YOU KNOW, THIS IS STILL TOO MANY FUNDS, LET'S REDUCE IT MORE, OR WE'RE GETTING FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPANTS, THEY DO WANT MORE FUNDS, ABSOLUTELY WE CAN, WE CAN, UH, CONSTRUCT THAT HOWEVER, HOWEVER YOU GUYS SEE, SEE FIT.
YEAH, I KNOW THE BEST PRACTICE IS NOT TO CHANGE TOO OFTEN, SO WE WOULDN'T WANNA BE LIKE ON A DIME, BUT, UM, YEAH, THIS GIVES US MORE, MORE ABILITY TO, UM, BE FLEXIBLE WITH WHAT, WHAT PEOPLE AT THE DISTRICT WANT THAN WE HAD WITH MISSION SQUARE.
SO THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE WERE EXCITED ABOUT FOR THE, FOR THE SWITCH.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I THINK, YOU KNOW, KIND OF JUMPING ONTO YOUR, UM, POINT ABOUT LIKE WHAT IS THE CUTOFF FOR MAKING CHANGES AS IT COMES TO THE NEXT PART OF OUR AGENDA, WHICH IS THE TIMING OF, UM, OF WHERE WE ARE WITH TRANSITION.
SO, UM, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, THE, SO THE NEXT STEPS ARE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL RECEIVE THE IPS AND THE FUND LINEUP ON FEBRUARY 6TH AT THEIR FEBRUARY 6TH MEETING.
UM, AND THEN, CORRECT ME IF I GET ANY OF THE DATES WRONG, THEN THERE'S A BLACKOUT PERIOD, I BELIEVE FEBRUARY 21ST, AND WHEN PARTICIPANTS CAN NO LONGER MAKE ANY CHANGES TO THEIR INVESTMENTS, UM, AND DURING THAT TIME IN POWER AND MISSION SQUARE ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO GET READY FOR THE, UH, TRANSITION.
THE TRANSITIONAL HAPPENED ON THE 29TH.
AND, UM, AND THEN MARCH 1ST IS WHEN WE ARE OFFICIALLY SWITCHED OVER, BUT I BELIEVE THE DATE THAT PEOPLE CAN ACCESS THEIR ACCOUNTS IS LIKE A COUPLE DAYS LATER.
WE, WE RECONCILE EVERYTHING, MAKE SURE IT'S IT'S SET AND GO, GO LIVE DATA
YEAH, SO THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE TIMING OF, UM, OF THE TRANSITION.
EMPOWER ON THEIR SIDE IS WORKING ON, UM, SOME BROCHURES THAT ARE GONNA BE GOING OUT TO PARTICIPANTS.
[00:30:01]
STARTED SENDING OUT INFORMATION, UM, FROM THE BENEFITS AND FINANCE SIDE STARTING TO, TO SEND OUT EMAILS.AND I THINK YOU HAVE IT ON THE BENEFITS, UM, SHAREPOINT PORTAL? YES, I DO.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO, IT, IT'S SUDDENLY LIKE, IT WENT FROM BEING SEEMINGLY, UM, MANY MONTHS IN THE FUTURE TO BEING LIKE, OKAY, IT'S HAPPENING VERY SOON.
AND PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING OUT ABOUT IT, I THINK.
UM, I ALSO WANNA POINT OUT TO DEB'S POINT, EVEN THOUGH THERE'S THAT BLACKOUT PERIOD, DEDUCTIONS ARE GONNA CONTINUE.
IT'S JUST THAT INVESTMENT CHANGES CAN'T OCCUR.
SO YEAH, THERE'S NOT GONNA BE AN EFFECT TO AN EMPLOYEE'S TAXABLE CONTRIBUTIONS OR NON-TAXABLE.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THE TIMING? ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD BE SAYING? UM, SO THAT'S, UH, THAT IS ALL I HAD TO SHARE FOR, UH, ITEM A FIVE A.
UM, MOVING ON TO, OH, SHOULD I, ARE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS? NO.
DO I, I THINK I HAVE TO DO THAT ON EACH OF THESE ITEMS. OKAY.
UM, NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS OUR 2024 DRAFT WORK PLAN.
UM, I THINK THAT WAS SOMETHING MEADOW WAS GONNA, MEADOW, MEADOW HAD HAVE TO MOVE THAT NEXT MEETING, PUT THAT TO THE NEXT MEETING.
UM, AND WERE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THAT ITEM? NO.
MOVING ON TO FIVE C PARTICIPATION DATA.
SO WE HAVE THAT PARTICIPATION DATA IN OUR PACKAGE, I BELIEVE, UM, BEGINNING ON MAYBE THE FIFTH PAGE OF THE PACKET, FOURTH OR FIFTH PAGE, IT'S GOT PARTICIPATION RATE.
UM, SO TAKING IT FROM THE TOP, WE'VE GOT INFORMATION FROM AUGUST, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, AND DECEMBER.
UM, WE HAVE THE EMPLOYEE COUNT AND THEN PLAN PARTICIPATION, INVESTMENT BALANCES, AND THEN PLAN PARTICIPATION RATE.
AND THEN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, WE HAVE A BREAKDOWN BY BARGAINING GROUP OR REPRESENTED REPRESENTATION, I GUESS YOU'D SAY.
ANY QUESTIONS ON THAT? DO WE KNOW WHAT THE ASTERISK REPRESENTS? UM, THAT'S ME
UM, UM, UM, REMEMBER WE DECIDED TO GO, UM, JUST PEOPLE THAT ARE ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTING VERSUS EVERYBODY.
THAT'S JUST EVERYBODY IN THE PLAN VERSUS ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS.
SO THAT, JUST NOTING THAT IT'S A CHANGE FROM THE, SO THE, THE AUGUST NUMBER IS A, LIKE KIND OF A DIFFERENT NUMBER.
SO JUST SAYING IT'S LIKE NOT APPLES TO APPLES.
SO LIKE ACTIVE AND I PULLED ONE, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT'S ASTERISK INCLUDED DOWNSTAIRS.
SO IT'S NOT THAT IT DROPPED FROM AUGUST NECESSARILY, IT'S JUST WE'RE JUST SHOWING ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS, WHICH IS DIFFERENT FROM, LIKE, THERE COULD BE PEOPLE WHO WERE CONTRIBUTING DURING THE YEAR BUT AREN'T AT THAT EXACT MONTH.
AND THEN WE DECIDE WE'RE GONNA DO AN ANNUAL THING AT THAT AS WELL, I THINK EVERY JUNE OR, OKAY.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE PARTICIPATION RATES? ALRIGHT.
UH, ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THAT ITEM? I'M GONNA ASSUME THERE WERE NOT ANY NO PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THAT ITEM? NO.
UM, SO ITEM FIVE E, DEFERRED COMPENSATION, ADVISORY COMMITTEE, BUDGET PLANNING, ADMINISTRATIVE ALLOWANCE ACCOUNT.
I THINK WE'LL MOVE THAT TO THE NEXT MEETING.
I THINK I'M, I'M SORRY, WHAT DID WE DECIDE TO DO ABOUT THE SURVEY? YEAH, WE SKIPPED ONE.
OH, SO SORRY, I SKIPPED D ALL RIGHT.
SO THAT IS ALSO IN OUR PACKET.
[00:35:01]
SO WE'VE REVIEWED THIS SURVEY, I BELIEVE, CORRECT ME IF I'M MISREMEMBERING.AND ARE WE READY TO SEND IT OUT? IS THAT WHERE WE, WHERE DID WE LEAVE THINGS? UM, I DON'T RECALL SEEING THE, THIS LATEST VERSION BEFORE.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE, DID WE LOOK AT THAT AT A MEETING? WHAT WAS IN THE LAST MEETING? IT'S JUST WE DIDN'T GET TO IT AND OKAY.
BASICALLY IN THE MEETING BEFORE SEPTEMBER, YOU GUYS WENT OVER IT AND THE RED IS WHAT YOU ADDED.
THAT SHUTS WITH MY MEMORY TOO.
SO, UM, SO WE SHOULD PROBABLY GO OVER IT WROTE, REVIEW IT ONE MORE TIME.
SO TAKING IT FROM THE TOP THEN, UM, I GUESS I'LL LET PEOPLE READ IT ON THERE.
UM, MAYBE WE SHOULD READ IT OUT LOUD.
UM, WELL, WHEN WERE WE THINKING OF SENDING THIS OUT? I THINK ORIGINALLY OUR GOAL WAS TO SEND IT BEFORE THE TRANSITION.
SO I THINK IT'S PROBABLY, IF WE WANNA SEND IT BEFORE EMPOWER TAKES IT, UH, TAKES IT OVER, THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO SEND IT OUT BY NEXT MONTH, WHICH IS TWO WEEKS AWAY.
AND I DON'T KNOW HOW REASONABLE THAT WOULD BE.
UM, WE'VE PREVIOUSLY ASKED, AND MISSION SQUARE HAS SENT THESE OUT.
THEY'VE CREATED THE, THE ACTUAL QUESTIONNAIRE AND PROVIDED US A LINK FOR ACTIVE EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND THEN THEY MAILED OUT NOTICES TO RETIREES.
SO IT'S JUST NOT GIVING US ENOUGH TIME IN ORDER TO COORDINATE ALL THAT.
UM, WELL, IS OUR BASIC PURPOSE HERE.
I MEAN, IN A WAY IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO GET IT IF WE COULD GET IT OUT.
EVEN CLO CLOSE TO THE DATE TO COMPARE PEOPLE'S SATISFACTION WITH THE SERVICE PROVIDED BY THE TWO COMPANIES WOULD CERTAINLY BE USEFUL INFORMATION.
SO YOU THINK SEND IT OUT AS SOON AS WE CAN.
SO THAT WOULD BE, WE CAN GET THE COMPARATIVE INFORMATION.
ARE THERE, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS THAT RELATE TO THAT ON HERE NOW, SORRY, I WASN'T HERE FOR THE LAST MEETING.
UM, IS THE POINT OF THIS SURVEY TO GAUGE SATISFACTION BEFORE AND AFTER, OR IS IT TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN GET MORE EMPLOYEES TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PLAN? WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE PURPOSE? I THINK ULTIMATELY, LIKE ORIGINALLY WE WERE TRYING TO GET AT THAT QUESTION, AND THEN BECAUSE WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE TRANSITION, WE HAD THE THOUGHT OF LIKE, WELL, WE WOULD HAVE DATA FROM IF WE SENT IT OUT BEFORE WE TRANSITIONED, WE WOULD HAVE DATA FROM BEFORE AND AFTER, AND THEN WE COULD SEE HOW WE'RE DOING.
BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, LIKE THE, THE INTENT IS TO LIKE FIND OUT WHY PEOPLE AREN'T PARTICIPATING AND THEN USE THAT DATA TO GET THEM TO PARTICIPATE.
OH, WE COULD CERTAINLY DO BOTH OF THOSE THINGS, I WOULD HOPE.
'CAUSE I ALSO LOOK AT IT FROM THE POINT OF EMPOWER.
THEY COULD GET THIS DATA AND SEE, DO THE EMPLOYEES WANT EDUCATION? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT RIGHT.
THE MASSES WANT, BECAUSE IF THEY DON'T, THEN WE DON'T NEED TO SCHEDULE 10 DIFFERENT SESSIONS OF, YOU KNOW, EDUCATION.
UM, JUST KIND OF DEPENDS ON YEAH.
NO, I THINK IT'S, UM, THIS WILL BE USEFUL TO US, UH, EVEN IF WE DON'T GET IT OUT BEFORE, LIKE YEAH.
IT'S NOT ESSENTIAL THAT IT, YEAH.
THAT IT GET OUT BEFORE THE TRANSITION.
UM, IF IT CAME OUT WITHIN A MONTH, CERTAINLY THE TRANSITION, IT WOULDN'T BE EASY.
WE'D STILL BE ABLE TO DO A COMPARISON A YEAR FROM NOW.
AND CERTAINLY ALL, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD GO AFTER BOTH OF THOSE GOALS.
THEY'RE BOTH IMPORTANT THINGS.
I THINK ULTIMATELY AS THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, OUR GOAL IS TO FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE PARTICIPATION AND ADDRESS WHAT CONCERNS THEY HAVE.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE THEY'RE GOING TO, IF THEY WRITE ON THE EVALUATION, WE DON'T LIKE EMPOWER, WE'RE GONNA SWITCH.
SO IT REALLY IS NOT GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
REALLY, OUR GOAL SHOULD BE WHAT CAN WE DO TO IMPROVE THE PROGRAM ITSELF.
SO YEAH, IF WE CAN WAIT TILL AFTER THE TRANSITION.
WELL, I WOULD THINK AN IMPORTANT QUESTION IS HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT WHICH YOU CAN'T IGNORE HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THE FIRM THAT'S PROVIDING THE SERVICE.
AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE PLAN.
I DON'T SAY THAT THE WHOLE SURVEY SHOULD FOCUS ON IT, BUT THERE OUGHT TO BE AT LEAST A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT GIVE PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT ON
[00:40:01]
THAT.SO YOU'RE THINKING, WAIT UNTIL, SO I, BECAUSE I THINK YOU'RE SAYING, WAIT, AND THEN PETE, I THINK YOU'RE SAYING WAIT AND GIVE PEOPLE A CO A PLACE TO SAY, LIKE, HOW, HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT EMPOWER? AND I'M, I WOULD LIKE MAYBE THERE, THERE, I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO TO READ THIS CAREFULLY, BUT THERE OUGHT TO BE A QUES I THINK WE SHOULD GET IT OUT FAIRLY SOON, WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
AND THERE OUGHT TO BE A QUESTION ON HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THE SERVICES PROVIDED FIRST BY MISSION SQUARE AND THEN BY EMPOWER.
SO WE COULD SEE YEAH, THEY'RE JUST NOT GONNA HAVE HAD ENOUGH TIME TO, WELL, I MEAN, IF WE DO IT IN A COUPLE MONTHS NO, NO.
YEAH, IT'S GOING TO, WE CAN'T EXPECT THEM TO COMMENT ON EMPOWER IN THIS ONE THAT WE'RE SENDING OUT NOW.
BUT IF WE HAD THIS ONE NOW ASKING SOME, AT LEAST A COUPLE OF THOSE QUESTIONS, THEN WHEN WE DID IT AGAIN A YEAR FROM NOW, WE'D HAVE SOME BASIS FOR COMPARISON.
WHAT'S THE, UH, WHAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A QUESTION WE COULD ADD? WELL, BASICALLY SOMETHING TO THE EFFECT OF HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU FEEL THE MISSION SQUARE IN THIS CASE FOR THIS ONE? AND IT'LL BE EMPOWER FOR THE NEXT ONE IF WE GET IT OUT.
LIKE, HAS MET YOUR EDUCATIONAL NEEDS.
HOW, HOW HAVE THEY, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW'S THE CONTACT PER IS, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CONTACT PERSON? I ASSUME THERE'LL BE A, A CONTACT PERSON THAT PEOPLE CAN TALK TO.
SO I, I MEAN, I THINK THOSE ARE SIGNIFICANT QUESTIONS WE OUGHT TO AT LEAST BE AWARE OF.
I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE'RE NECESSARILY GONNA CHANGE PROVIDERS ON ACCOUNT OF IT, BUT WE OUGHT TO KNOW HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT IT, NOT ASKING THAT KIND OF QUESTION.
I THINK YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE MISSING AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT.
SO HOW DID YOU FEEL MISSION SQUARE DID WITH MEETING YOUR NEEDS AS REGARDS TO, AND THEN IT'S GONNA BE LIKE ON A SCALE ONE COULD EDUCATION OR SOMETHING.
AND, YOU KNOW, ONE COULD BE ABOUT EDUCATION, ONE COULD BE ABOUT AVAILABILITY, UH, AND THE, THE QUALITY OF THE SERVICE.
YOU GOT BASICALLY AVAILABILITY OF, UH, DOESN'T HAVE TO BE ALL THAT COMPLICATED.
SO, YEAH, I'M JUST TRYING TO GET NOTES.
SO HOW DID YOU FEEL MISSION SQUARE DID WITH MEETING YOUR NEEDS? UM, WITH REGARD TO, SO ONE IS INVESTMENT OPTIONS.
ONE I WOULD THINK WOULD BE THE QUALITY OF THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SERVICE PROVIDED BY THE REPRESENTATIVE AND PROVIDED BY THE, AND THEN THE REPRESENTATIVE IS THE, UM, WELL, THE, THE PERSON, THE, THE KIM HAMMOND, UH, AND WAS WHAT'S HER, WHAT'S HER LIKE TITLE OR ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE? SHE IS ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE.
SO, BUT I DO WANNA POINT OUT THESE QUESTIONS.
DO WE ALREADY HAVE QUESTIONS IN PLACE THAT ASK THEM, WHICH ARE, WELL, IF WE DO, THAT'S GREAT.
BUT ONE, ONE MORE CATEGORY I THINK OUGHT TO BE ON THERE IS THE QUALITY OF THE, AND UNDERSTANDABILITY OF THE WEBSITES, BECAUSE THAT'S HOW A LOT OF STUFF GETS DONE.
SO IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO KNOW HOW PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT THAT.
I WOULD THINK QUALITY OF WEBSITE.
BUT WE COULD ALSO ADD A QUESTION ABOUT LIKE AN OPEN-ENDED, LET THEM SHARE ANY CONCERNS OR YEAH.
YEAH, THAT'S ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA.
THAT WAY IT'S NOT CERTAINLY SUPPORT THAT.
SO WE'VE CURRENTLY GOT 12 QUESTIONS, WHICH ISN'T TOO BAD, NOT TOO OVERWHELMING.
AND SO THEN WE'LL ADD ONE MORE THAT'LL BE SORT OF A MULTI-PART.
HOW DID YOU FEEL MISSION SQUARED AND MEETING YOUR NEEDS WITH INVESTMENT OPTIONS, EDUCATION SERVICE PROVIDED BY THE ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE, AND THEN QUALITY OF WEBSITE.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION THAT'LL BE OPEN-ENDED.
PLEASE GIVE YOUR, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE? MM-HMM.
SO WE CAN GET LIKE A FINAL DRAFT.
SO WE'RE MISSION SQUARE TO MM-HMM.
HOPEFULLY IF I CAN GET A, A, A COPY, A FINAL VERSION, I'M SURE I CAN WORK WITH HILLIS.
HAS, HAS MISSION SQUARE BEEN THE ONE I SUPPO TO SEND IT OUT TO THE, TO THE PARTICIPANTS AS OPPOSED TO THE DISTRICT IN THE PAST? SO IN THE PAST, UH, WE HERE IN HR SENT NOTICE OF
[00:45:01]
THIS SURVEY AND ADDED THE LINK FOR THE QUESTIONNAIRE THAT MISSION SQUARE DEVELOPED.SO MISSION SQUARE HAS LIKE THE SURVEY CAPABILITY I SEE.
AND WE USE THEIR CAPABILITY, BUT IT WAS AN EMAIL SENT BY US.
SO IT WOULD BE SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
AND THEN FOR RETIREES? FOR RETIREES, THEY WOULD SEND AN LETTER AND AN EMAIL IF THEY HAD AN EMAIL ON FILE.
WELL, GOING THROUGH THE RETIREES ASSOCIATION IS ALWAYS A REALLY GOOD WAY OF DOING THAT.
I THINK THEY HAVE A MUCH BETTER LIST THAN THE DISTRICT HAS, IS MY UNDERSTANDING.
I COULD BE WRONG ABOUT THAT PROBABLY.
SO IS THAT WHAT WE DID LAST TIME? SENT IT TO THE RETIREES? I WANNA SAY WE MIGHT HAVE, I DON'T REMEMBER.
WERE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? NO.
DO YOU WANT THIS, THE REVISED ONE TO COME BACK NEXT MONTH OR, OH, NO.
YOU'LL BE, KNOW WHAT? I THINK WE JUST NEED TO GET, WE NEED IT.
SO THEN NOW WE'RE ONTO LETTER E.
UM, SO 2024 DEFERRED COMP, BUDGET PLANNING, ADMINISTRATIVE ALLOWANCE COUNT.
I THINK THAT WE, AGAIN, MEADOW WOULD WANNA BE HERE FOR THAT.
SO WE'LL BUMP THAT TO OUR NEXT MEETING.
UM, IS THAT FIDUCIARY TRAINING FOR THIS COMMITTEE? I BELIEVE IT WAS FOR THIS COMMITTEE AND IT'S, WELL, THAT WOULD SEEM TO BE OBVIATED BY YEAH.
IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S NOT NECESSARY.
UM, YEAH, WE RAN OUT TOWN LAST TIME.
YOU WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE SHARED TRAINING.
BECAUSE I KNOW EMPOWER WAS GOING TO, UM, OPERATE, THOUGHT MAYBE WE COULD DO EMPOWER AND BOARD.
YEAH, I KNOW, UH, EMPOWER DOES OFFER FIDUCIARY TRAINING.
SO MAYBE WE COULD SCHEDULE SOMETHING WITH THE BOARD AND THE DEFERRED COMP COMMITTEE, ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT NEEDED FOR US.
I STILL THINK IT'S A NECESSARY TOOL, EVEN IF WE'RE NOT FIDUCIARIES, JUST TO HAVE THAT BACKGROUND.
UH, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S OFFERED BY EMPOWERED.
'CAUSE THE BOARD WILL WANT IT, AND I DON'T SEE IF WE COULD, WE WOULD BENEFIT FROM THE TRAINING.
UM, EVEN IF WE'RE NOT FIDUCIARIES.
SO NEXT, I SUPPOSE YOU'D BETTER RUN THAT BY THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT TOO, SINCE IN VIEW OF ALL THE YEAH.
I MEAN, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING SOUNDS LOGICAL, BUT GOD KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE GONNA SAY ABOUT IT.
WE MIGHT AS WELL KNOW SOONER THAN LATER IF THEY HAVE A PROBLEM.
SO I'LL, UM, I GUESS FIND OUT FROM EMPOWER.
YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT THE RIGHT PERSON TO ANSWER THAT ONE, BUT WHAT KIND OF TRAININGS ARE, UH, AVAILABLE AND, AND HOW WE WOULD GET THOSE SCHEDULED.
AND THEN WE'LL FIGURE OUT HOW TO COORDINATE THAT FOR OUR BOARD.
AND IF IT MAKES SENSE FOR THE DEFERRED COMP COMMITTEE AS WELL, THEN WE'LL TRY TO GET THAT SCHEDULED.
UM, LAST ITEM IS THE COMPARISON BETWEEN MISSION SQUARE AND EMPOWER.
UM, THIS IS STILL, I THINK IT'S VERY CLOSE TO FINAL, BUT STILL IN DRAFT FORM.
UH, AND, UH, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS SUGGESTED AS LIKE A, A USEFUL TOOL FOR, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE PLAN, WHO ARE LIKE, WELL, WHAT'S CHANGING, WHAT'S NOT CHANGING? SO WE PUT TOGETHER THIS CHECKLIST, UM, I DUNNO IF YOU ALWAYS WANNA JUST TAKE A MINUTE AND READ, READ THROUGH IT, UM, UM, I NOTICE PROVIDES A ROTH IRA OPTION THROUGH PAYROLL DEDUCTION.
IS THERE A REASON WHY WE'RE NOT DOING THAT? YES.
SO EMPOWER DOES NOT OFFER THE ROTH IRA OPTION.
AND BILL, MAYBE YOU CAN REMIND ME.
THERE'S A, THERE'S A TECHNICAL REASON WHY THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE, THAT MISSION SQUARE HAD THE ABILITY TO OFFER THAT.
UM, AND SO OUR, UH, DID YOU HAVE, DO YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHT INTO THAT? I KNOW KEVIN HAD EXPLAINED IT TO ME.
AND THAT, THAT PART, I DON'T KNOW.
UM, AND SO EMPOWER DOES NOT HAVE THAT ABILITY, BUT UM, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING, MY IMPRESSION IS THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS, HAD A FAIRLY
[00:50:01]
GOOD AMOUNT OF USE.AM I RIGHT ABOUT THAT? YOU KNOW, THAT IS, YEAH, WE DO.
UM, BUT I BELIEVE, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN, AND POWER WILL ALLOW YOU TO STILL HAVE A ROTH IRA, BUT IT WON'T BE THROUGH PAYROLL.
AND YOU CAN ALSO STAY WITH MISSION SQUARE.
SO THOSE WILL BE THE TWO OPTIONS, THE SAME PLAN THAT THEY HAVE NOW.
IT JUST ALSO WILL NOT BE THROUGH PAYROLL.
SO THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THE PAYROLL.
WHO WOULD IT COME IN IF NOT THROUGH PAYROLL? I'M NOT UNDERSTANDING A CH THROUGH THEIR ACCOUNT.
SO YOU COULD CONTRIBUTE DIRECTLY, BUT IT WOULDN'T COME THROUGH PAYROLL DEDUCTION.
YOU WOULD BE, THE EMPLOYEE WOULD MAKE A CONTRIBUTION DIRECTLY FROM THEIR PERSONAL ACCOUNT.
AND THAT WOULD BE TOTALLY ON THEIR OWN OR WOULD THAT COME THROUGH EMPOWER AT ALL? OR, OR THROUGH THE DISTRICT AT ALL? OR WOULD IT BE JUST SOMETHING LIKE THEY CAN CURRENTLY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ROTH CERTAIN AMOUNT EVERY YEAR TO A ROTH I IN ANY EVENT, RIGHT? CORRECT.
WOULD IT BE THAT SAME, THAT OPTION? YES.
WELL, IF PEOPLE WERE USING THAT, WHICH YOU'RE ASSUME THEY ARE, IT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE NICE IF WE COULD CONTINUE IF THERE WERE A WAY TO CONTINUE IT OR IS IT, OR IS THERE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THERE'S NO REASONABLE HOPE OF? UM, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S BEING WORKED ON OR NOT.
UM, I KNOW IT'S NOT AVAILABLE NOW, BUT WE'RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING AT, AT NEW CHANGES ALONG THAT LINE.
SO I'M NOT SAYING IT WOULDN'T BE AVAILABLE IN THE FUTURE.
UM, IS THERE A LOT CON ROTH DON'T, THERE'S NOT THE RAW 4 57? NO, NOT THAT ONE BECAUSE THAT CONTINUES.
THAT, THAT IS THROUGH PAYROLL REDUCTION, EVERYTHING.
THIS WOULD BE, IF I'M CONTRIBUTING TO A ROTH, IRA INDIVIDUALLY, AND I, I SEE.
AND I, THEY COULD STILL DO ROTH CONTRIBUTIONS, IT'S JUST THAT THEY COULDN'T DO IT DIRECTLY INTO AN IR BUT THEY COULD DO THAT ON THEIR OWN OUTSIDE PRESUMABLY IN THE SAME AMOUNT I WOULD THINK.
WELL THAT MAKES IT, I THINK, I THINK MISSION SQUARE IS PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT OF THE ANOMALY THERE, THAT THEY, THEY HAD THAT, THAT'S WHAT THEY SAID IS THAT MISSION SQUARE WAS UNUSUAL.
WELL IF YOU COULD CHECK INTO IT AND SEE IF THAT'S A POSSIBILITY, THAT WOULD BE GOOD.
ALWAYS LOOKING TO IMPROVE STUFF.
UM, I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE, THE PA.
I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT MOST OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE USING JUST THE 4, 5, 7 ROTH.
THERE'S VERY FEW, IF I KNOW OF ANY AT ALL THAT DO THE ROTH IRA, UM, THROUGH MISSION SQUARE.
IT'S THE 4, 5 7 ROTH IS WHAT IS MORE COMMON ONE MOST USING.
AND THEN THERE'S A, SO THERE'S AN ASTE, A DOUBLE ASTERISK, UM, DOWN BELOW ON THAT, THAT, SO, YOU KNOW, PETE, I'D APPRECIATE YOUR, UH, BOTH OF YOU GUYS, YOUR THOUGHTS ON, UH, HOW, YOU KNOW, IS THIS WRITTEN CLEARLY FOR PEOPLE WHO DO HAVE THE ROTH RA SO THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR OPTIONS ARE? I THINK WE SHOULD WRITE OUT, I'VE ALREADY FORGOTTEN WHAT AACH H STANDS FOR, BUT, OH YEAH, I THINK THAT'S, WE SHOULD DEFINITELY WRITE THAT OUT IN ORDER AUTOMATED CLEARINGHOUSE, BUT WE CAN SAY THROUGH LIKE DIRECT BANK TO, I DON'T KNOW, BANK TRANSCRIPTION.
WE SHOULD PROBABLY DO THE SAME WITH THE SG ABOVE IT.
WHERE IS THAT? I THINK LOOKING AT THIS COMPARISON, WHEN YOU SEE THE ROTH IRA OPTION THROUGH PAYROLL DEDUCTION WILL CONTINUE TO BE OFFERED THROUGH MISSION SQUARE.
DOES THAT MEAN UNTIL MARCH 31ST? NO, IT'S GONNA, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THAT IN CASE PEOPLE WANT TO CONTINUE IT.
RIGHT? OH, EVEN AFTER THE TRANSITION PERMISSION SQUARE? NO, NO.
SO IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING, DEB, THAT, SORRY, THIS IS WHY THIS IS STILL IN DRAFT FORM
IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT MISSION SQUARE WOULD ALLOW THEM TO CONTINUE WITH THE MISSION SQUARE ROTH OPTION, BUT IT WOULD HAVE TO BE A DIRECT COORDINATION WITH THE PARTICIPANT.
NOT THROUGH PAYROLL DEDUCTION.
BECAUSE THAT WOULD REQUIRE A SPECIFIC CONTRACT, WHICH WE DON'T HAVE.
THAT YEAH, WE SHOULD THAT SENTENCE WE SHOULD COULD BE THE, THE DOUBLE ASER ONE COULD BE YEAH.
IT SHOULD ALSO THAT, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE HAVE ROTH IRA AND EMPOWER OFFICE OF OFFERS OF FIDUCIARY.
UM, THEY CAN PROVIDE THAT TRAINING.
IF OUR EMPLOYEES WANTED TO ROLL THAT ROTH IRA OVER TO A DIFFERENT OUT OF ACCOUNT AND NOT BE MET WITH MISSION SQUARE, THEY DON'T LOSE ANY MONEY.
UM, AND THAT'S ALL STUFF THAT THESE EMPLOYEES COULD DO.
SO WE DON'T HAVE TO, THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH AN A CH WITHDRAWAL.
UM, AND THAT COULD BE SET UP OR THEY COULD JUST LEAVE IT THERE AS THEY
[00:55:01]
THEY PLEASED AND THEY COULD CONTINUE TO MAKE DIRECT PAYMENTS.I IT, IF THEY PLEASED, I THINK WE COULD WRITE THAT OUT IN TWO OR THREE SENTENCES SO IT WAS MORE UNDERSTANDABLE.
TRY AND GET THAT WRITTEN MORE CLEARLY.
UM, NOW DO WE NEED AN ESG BOND FUND IF THIS FOR THE SINGLE ASTERISK? UM, WELL, ALL OF THE SURVEYS THAT WE'VE DONE INDICATED THAT THE EMPLOYEE, THE PART, THE EMPLOYEES AND PARTICIPANTS REALLY HAD A DESIRE FOR THAT.
WOULDN'T, WOULDN'T YOU AGREE? UH, THAT'S BEEN VERY CON I HEARD MENTIONED.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE IT IS, BUT SEEMS TO ME IT WAS, IT WAS PRETTY HIGH.
I COULD BE WRONG, BUT I HAVE A DISTINCT RECOLLECTION THAT THAT WAS THE CASE.
THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE A PARK DISTRICT, SO PEOPLE CARE ABOUT THAT SORT OF THING.
UH, THAT WAS MY VERY STRONG IMPRESSION ON FACT.
THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING PEOPLE WANTED.
AND I THINK YOU'D INCREASE PARTICIPATION IF YOU DID IT.
I CAN ADD A, I THOUGHT WE HAD, I THOUGHT THERE WAS NO, I I DIDN'T THAT THAT WAS ON THE LIST.
I ADDED THE CALVERT, WHICH IS A YEAH.
SO THE QUESTION IS ADDING A BOND FUND AS WELL, CORRECT? YEAH.
IT IS, IT'S ONE THE FIDELITY SUSTAIN SUSTAINABILITY BOND.
UM, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS ON THIS? I'D JUST LIKE TO, TO COMMENT THE, YEAH.
WHAT IS ON HERE? THE INVESTMENT FEES WILL BE CLEARLY VISIBLE ON STATEMENTS.
THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMPLAINTS THAT I KNOW I HAD.
AND MY FELLOW PO POA EMPLOYEES, UM, MISSION SQUARE REQUIRED YOU TO GO THROUGH MULTIPLE WINDOWS TO FIND THE FEE SCHEDULE.
UM, SO I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST KIND OF PROS MOVING TOWARDS EMPOWER, IS HAVING THE EMPLOYEES BE ABLE TO QUICKLY SEE WHAT THEIR FEE SCHEDULES ARE, UM, WITH EACH STATEMENT.
YEAH, THAT CAME UP IN THE SURVEYS A LOT TOO.
I HOPE, I HOPE PEOPLE APPRECIATE THAT.
WE'LL KNOW IN A COUPLE MONTHS.
CAN I ASK A QUESTION ABOUT THE LINK TO EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS? WHAT EXACTLY? SO PEOPLE, IF I HAVE INVESTMENTS AT, I DON'T KNOW, FIDELITY, UM, ACTUALLY IT'S, IT'S ALL TYPES OF EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS.
SO, SO THE GOAL FOR THE PARTICIPANT WEBSITE IS TO BE KIND OF THE HUB, YOUR FINANCIAL HUB.
UM, SO WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO LINK CREDIT CARDS, UM, OTHER INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS, UM, ZILLOW TO, FOR A ESTIMATE ON, ON YOUR HOME VALUE.
UM, ESSENTIALLY ALMOST ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF.
AND IT'S AN EASY PROCESS, RIGHT? IF IF YOU'VE GOT, YOU KNOW, ONLINE, IF YOU'VE GOT A DISCOVER CARD AND YOU'VE GOT ONLINE ACCESS TO THAT, UM, ON THE PARTICIPANT WEBSITE, YOU'LL JUST CLICK ADD EXTERNAL ACCOUNT AND YOU'LL PUT IN YOUR USERNAME AND PASSWORD AND IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY CONTACT, DISCOVER AND BRING IT IN.
SO THAT WAY WE CAN TAKE A KIND OF A TOTAL PICTURE OF, OKAY, WE, WE KNOW THIS IS, THESE ARE YOUR ASSETS, YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN, YOUR OTHER INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS THAT YOU'VE TOLD US YOU HAVE, HERE'S YOUR LIABILITIES.
SO WE'RE ABLE TO GIVE YOU A REALLY COMPLETE PICTURE ON YOUR NET WORTH AND, AND EVERYTHING ALONG THAT LINE.
WOULD THAT INCLUDE CALPERS AS WELL? AND I BELIEVE IT INCLUDES CALPERS.
I THINK WE ASKED THEM THAT AT THE, UM, I THINK IT'S DURING THE RFP PROCESS, AND I THINK THE ANSWER WAS YES, BUT WE SHOULD GO BACK AND DOUBLE CHECK THAT.
YEAH, I'LL DOUBLE, I'LL DOUBLE CHECK WITH KEVIN.
ESPECIALLY FOR OUR PEPPER FOLKS TO BE ABLE TO SEE THAT.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA PUT THIS OUT ON THE BENEFITS PORTAL, AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA DO ANOTHER EMAIL UP TO, UH, EMPLOYEES PROBABLY.
AND RETIREES, UM,
I THINK, UM, DEB, ON THE VERY SECOND TO LAST POINT, ONSITE RETIREMENT PLAN ADVISOR CAN PROVIDE ONE-ON-ONE ADVICE TO PARTICIPANTS AND ACT AS A FIDUCIARY.
[01:00:01]
YEAH, WE CAN CLARIFY THAT.PROVIDING INDEPENDENT ADVICE OR SOMETHING.
SO, UM, TRYING TO THINK OF LIKE, YEAH, I GUESS I'LL, I'LL MAKE THESE EDITS AND THEN I'LL SEND IT TO, UH, YOU AGAIN TO GIVE IT A FINAL REVIEW.
IF YOU GUYS THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA CHANGE IN THIS, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL IT.
UM, NEXT, OH, WERE THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THAT ITEM? NO.
[Announcements]
ANNOUNCEMENTS? WELL, UM, I HAD REQUESTED THAT WE HAVE A ADD TO THIS AGENDA, AN UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE EMPLOYER MATCH.AND APPARENTLY THERE WAS A SIDE LETTER SIGNED WITH THE UNION, AND I WONDER IF WE COULD PUT THAT ON THE NEXT AGENDA, JUST AN UPDATE ON WHERE WE STAND WITH IT.
BECAUSE SOMETHING I GET ASKED ABOUT A LOT, AND I'M ALWAYS SAYING I HAVE NO IDEA.
AND HEARING RUMORS THAT AREN'T ALWAYS TRUE.
UM, I KNOW WE'RE WORKING ON AN, UH, UM, AN FAQS THAT'S GONNA EXPLAIN IT TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING THE, UM, IS IT A ONE TIME THING? ONE TIME THING? YEAH.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON A, UM, LIKE A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, BUT IT'S JUST GONNA GO TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE RECEIVING IT.
SO I DON'T THINK IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO BE ON THE DEFERRED COMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA.
WELL, IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA GET ASKED ABOUT, AND I DON'T HAVE TO, WE DON'T, I DON'T SEE ANY NEED TO GO INTO DETAILS OR MAKE ARGUMENTS OR ANYTHING.
BUT I, IT'S SOMETHING I CONSTANTLY GET ASKED ABOUT, AND I'M ALWAYS SAYING, I HAVE NO IDEA.
UM, IF THERE'S ANY WAY THAT THERE'S, WE CAN GET ANY KIND OF INFORMATION ON WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT AND WHAT'S BEEN AGREED TO, WHAT'S STILL HANGING, WHAT'S BEEN SETTLED THERE.
IS THE WHOLE ISSUE STILL HANGING? I I HAVE MM-HMM,
IT'S CERTAINLY A THING THAT NO ONE CAN DENY THAT IT AFFECTS PLAN PARTICIPATION, WHICH IS CERTAINLY WHAT ABSOLUTELY WITHIN OUR PURVIEW.
AND, UM, JUST SOME REALLY BASIC, WE DON'T NEED TO GO INTO DETAILS OR GET INTO ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER OR ANYTHING.
BUT I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME KIND OF, AT LEAST BE ABLE TO SAY, HERE IS WHAT I KNOW.
UH, JUST THE, THE VERY BASICS OF WHATEVER CAN BE SAID WITHOUT COMPROMISING ANYBODY'S POSITION.
I DON'T NEED A WHOLE LOT OF DETAILS OR EXPECT TO GRILL ANYBODY WITH QUESTIONS, BUT, SO IF WE CAN PUT A SUMMARY TOGETHER, UH, YEAH.
OF WHAT WE KNOW, WHAT WE CAN'T, THERE'S THINGS THAT CAN'T BE DISCUSSED, SO BE IT, YOU KNOW, BUT AT LEAST IF WE HAD SOME KIND OF SOMETHING, I WOULDN'T FEEL LIKE SUCH AN IDIOT EVERY TIME SOMEBODY ASKED ME.
I, I THINK THIS ITEM WAS, WAS, UM, DISCUSSED DURING NEGOTIATIONS WITH ASK ME.
UM, AND SO I THINK OUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE, YOU NEED TO GO BACK TO YOUR UNION STEWARDS TO GET THAT INFORMATION.
'CAUSE WE, WE WEREN'T INVOLVED IN THAT CONVERSATION, SO THERE'S, NOR WERE WE PART OF THAT DECISION.
UM, SO I THINK OUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE, SPEAK TO YOUR UNION STEWARD.
WELL, IS THERE STILL SOME KIND OF PROCESS PENDING WITHIN THE UNION? IS IT? I DON'T BELIEVE SO.
I BELIEVE IT'S ALL THE SIDE LETTER IS SETTLED WITH EVERYTHING SIDE SETTLES IT WELL.
THE BASICS OF THAT, IF IT'S A SETTLED THING, UH, WHY, WHY, WHY SHOULD THAT BE A PROBLEM? YEAH.
I THINK IT'S JUST NOT PART OF THE DEFERRED COMP ADVISORY COMMITTEE PURVIEW.
WELL, IT AFFECTS PLAN PARTICIPATION, WHICH IS PART OF OUR PURVIEW.
SO I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH YOU THERE.
ESPECIALLY IF IT BEING THE, YOU KNOW, THE PLAN PARTICIPATION PERSON.
IF I CAN'T EVEN TELL PEOPLE WHAT'S BEEN AGREED TO
[01:05:01]
OR THE BASICS OF WHAT, I DON'T NEED THE, THE ACTUAL MONEY AMOUNTS, BUT RIGHT.AT LEAST JUSTICES YEAH, A LITTLE SOMETHING WOULD BE, I, I, I THINK SOMETHING THIS COMMITTEE OUGHT HAVE SOME IDEA ABOUT.
I, I BELIEVE YOU, YOU HAD, YOU HAD REQUESTED THIS ALREADY AND I BELIEVE WE PLENTY OF TIMES.
HE EMAILED YOU A RESPONSE SAYING, WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT ON THE, IS THAT RIGHT? THAT YOU RECEIVED AN EMAIL RESPONSE SAYING, WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT AT THIS MEETING? YEAH.
SO I THINK IT'S STILL THE SAME ANSWER,
SO WE CAN'T TALK A BIT, WE CAN'T BRING THE SUBJECT UP AT ALL.
NOT, NOT EVEN TO HAVE A BASIC, I BELIEVE THAT'LL STILL BE THE, IT'LL STILL BE THE SAME ANSWER, I BELIEVE.
WELL, IF THE SIDE LETTER HAS BEEN AGREED TO, I DON'T, I, I'M, I'M HEARING THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID, AND I GUESS THAT'S, I DON'T HAVE ANY OPTIONS TO GO ANY FURTHER WITH IT, BUT, UM, I STILL DON'T SEE WHY WE CAN'T KNOW THE BASICS OF WHAT BOTH SIDES HAVE ALREADY AGREED TO.
ESPECIALLY IF IT'S A ONE TIME THING.
WHY YEAH, WHY WOULD THAT, WHO WOULD THAT POSSIBLY HEARD? DULY NOTED.
UM, NO, I APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR PERSISTENCE.
WERE YOU GONNA SAY SOMETHING? NO, THAT'S FINE.
WHEN'S OUR NEXT MEETING? GREAT QUESTION.