MAPS trust approves 4% FY26 distribution after investment review

Oklahoma City MAPS Investment and Operating Trust trustees on Feb. 17 received quarterly and monthly investment updates and voted to authorize a 4% distribution percentage for fiscal year 2026.

The vote followed presentations by the trust’s staff and investment presenter on portfolio performance through Dec. 31, 2024, and January 2025. Doug Anderson, the meeting’s investment presenter, said U.S. equities led returns last year and identified the largest contributors as the so-called “magnificent 7,” naming Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Meta and Alphabet. “The market's been led by, very popular stocks, the magnificent 7,” Anderson said while reviewing charts of quarterly and one-year returns.

The trust’s market value at Dec. 31 was presented as approximately $133.4 million, with paid-in capital (principal) shown as about $115 million, realized gains of $18 million and income of about $8.5 million since inception. Anderson said the fund was holding roughly $4.4 million in cash “in anticipation of distributions,” and staff reported a 12-quarter average market value of $115,860,830, which at 4% equals roughly $4,600,000 available under the spending policy calculation.

Nut graf: The trustees’ decision to set a 4% distribution percentage sets the ceiling for funds projects may request in FY26 but does not guarantee that amount will be disbursed; staff said many projects will elect not to draw their full share immediately and that the actual cash taken by projects may be considerably less than the approved total.

In his overview, Anderson described market drivers and portfolio construction. He told trustees that U.S. large-cap growth companies produced outsized returns, international equities lagged (partly due to dollar strength), and fixed-income returns were hurt by fourth-quarter movements tied to short-term rate expectations. Anderson noted short-term cash yields around 5.3% for T-bills and that the portfolio currently contains only liquid, indexed equity exposures and two active fixed-income allocations, including a Dodge & Cox core bond holding.

Trustee Johnson asked about fees for the Dodge & Cox income fund compared with index funds. Anderson responded that Dodge & Cox’s active management had outperformed its index net of fees over several measured periods and said that the board’s allocation to active fixed-income management was a deliberate choice to seek consistent outperformance.

Trustees discussed how the approved 4% would be allocated among operators. Staff said last year the Innovation District drew $159,000 from an approved distribution, and that projects such as Innovation District, senior wellness programs, streetlight work, and beautification efforts had expressed interest in or inquiry about distributions for FY26. Staff emphasized that the spending policy calls for distributions based on the 12-quarter average market value and that because some projects postpone draws, the approved percentage may result in less immediate cash outflow than the headline dollar amount implies.

Formal actions at the meeting included motions to receive the general manager report and quarterly investment report, and to receive the November, December and January reports. Each of those motions was recorded as passing; the transcript records “motion passes” but does not include roll-call tallies. The trustees then approved a resolution authorizing a 4% distribution percentage for FY26. The motion to authorize 4% was made on the record and passed; the transcript does not specify the mover, seconder or the numeric vote tally.

Ending: Trustees instructed staff and the municipal clerk’s office to prepare the FY26 distribution resolution language for the council/board record and to notify individual project operators of the approved percentage so they can decide whether to request funds. Trustees also signaled a future review of investment policy and possible consideration of alternative asset allocations as the trust moves past startup funding years.