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Marquette Associates: Lawrence County fund posts trailing‑12‑month gains; consultant warns of tariff‑driven volatility
Summary
Sarah Wilson of Marquette Associates briefed the Lawrence County Retirement Board June 3 on portfolio performance through April, reporting a trailing 12‑month net return of 5.9% and $65.3 million in net investment gains since inception; she highlighted tariff‑related market volatility and reported manager lineup changes.
Sarah Wilson, the investment consultant from Marquette Associates, told the Lawrence County Retirement Board on June 3 that the county pension fund returned 5.7% for the trailing 12 months and a net investment gain of 5.9% (net of fees), with an annualized return since inception of 7.4%.
Wilson said the fund had a net investment gain of about $65,300,000 since inception and that, despite a volatile quarter driven in part by tariff concerns, the plan beat its benchmark. She told the board the fund was up year‑to‑date through April and that net cash flows for the year were about $1.3 million out, with a year‑to‑date gain of about $103,000.
On market drivers, Wilson singled out tariff uncertainty as a primary source of recent volatility. "To understand performance is to understand that some of your managers are going to have a large exposure to tariff‑exposed stocks ... and some of them will not," she said, describing a split in returns between tariff‑exposed equities (down roughly 14% in the quarter) and tariff‑insulated equities (near flat). She cautioned trustees against reacting to short‑term, media‑driven moves: "You can't panic because much of this has been media driven," Wilson said.
Wilson also reviewed recent portfolio adjustments. Among the changes she described: the board reduced the Artisan Global allocation from a 5% target to 2.5% because of performance relative to its benchmark; the board added WCM as a global manager (transitioning to a collective investment trust to reduce investment costs); and the fund continued allocations to real estate and infrastructure managers, including a TA Realty property fund that had recently been funded. She characterized infrastructure and real estate as inflation hedges that provide income to pay monthly benefits.
Wilson provided returns by asset class: U.S. equities and information technology were weak for the quarter, while developed non‑U.S. equities and commodities performed better. She reminded trustees that performance should be judged over multi‑year horizons and said the board's diversification and asset allocation contributed to relative outperformance during the quarter.
No board vote or formal policy change on asset allocation or manager hires was recorded at the meeting; Wilson's presentation was an informational update and included recommendations and manager performance review. Board members thanked Wilson for the briefing and scheduled the next regular quarterly meeting for Aug. 12.
Why it matters: Investment performance, manager selection and asset allocation drive the pension fund's ability to meet actuarial assumptions and pay benefits. The trustees were given state of the portfolio information they will use when considering future policy or allocation decisions.
