Garcia Hamilton reports bond gains; trustees ask consultant to propose alternate core manager

Punta Gorda City — Representatives from Garcia Hamilton told the Punta Gorda Employees' Retirement System Board of Trustees that the plan’s fixed‑income sleeve has produced positive returns this year but is positioned defensively, and Mariner-affiliated consultant Jack Evitt recommended the board consider adding a second core bond manager.

Garcia Hamilton representatives said the account is overweight agency mortgage‑backed securities and underweight corporate credit, a stance they said has added value as corporate spreads remain tight. “If you look at how we're positioned today, we have a pretty significant underweight to corporate bonds because corporate bonds are not adding a lot of value right now,” Garcia Hamilton said. They noted month‑to‑date and quarter‑to‑date gains and said the portfolio’s duration is longer than the benchmark to capture anticipated declines in interest rates.

The briefing matters to city retirees and active employees because the total fund is in the tens of millions of dollars and fixed income is the plan’s primary income source. Jack Evitt, the plan’s investment consultant, told trustees that…