Russell Investments recommends diversifying New Canaan retirement portfolios; committee meets without quorum

Russell Investments presented an asset-allocation review to the Town of New Canaan's Return Plan Advisory Committee on Feb. 25, recommending a strategic shift from a 65/35 equity-to-fixed-income mix toward a 60/40 mix and adding exposure to emerging markets and listed real assets.

The recommendation, delivered by Rich Hall of Russell Investments, aimed to increase the portfolio's expected 10-year mean return from about 6.7% under the current allocation to roughly 7.3% under the proposed mix while slightly lowering projected volatility. "We maintain a relatively defensive posture with your portfolios, recognizing markets have been up 20 plus percent over the past two years. We're willing to be a little bit more defensive and conservative as we move forward from here," Hall said.

Why it matters: the town's funded retirement plan showed a market value of about $173 million as of Dec. 31 in the presentation, and Russell reported the portfolio had…