St. Mary's County, Md. — The St. Mary's County Sheriff’s Office Retirement Plan board heard a detailed asset-allocation analysis Oct. 23 from consultant Patrick Wing of Marquette Associates and gave staff direction to memorialize new long-term targets while approving a $200,000 rebalancing.

The consultant told the board the fund stands at just under $180 million and that private-market holdings (private equity and private real estate) have fallen from roughly 12% in 2020 to about 7.5% today. ‘‘I don't recall ever seeing a number quite like that. So it's great news,’’ Patrick Wing said, describing nearly $450,000 of net investment gains reported in the private-equity sleeve for the quarter and about $580,000 across private markets for the period.

Wing walked trustees through five portfolio variants that answer two questions: where to allocate an existing 4% private-real-estate target as those funds wind down, and where to place a 6% private-equity target. Option A would eliminate the real-estate target and split the 4 percentage points between global infrastructure and private debt. Options B, C and D present a risk spectrum for private equity (B most conservative, D most aggressive): B moves the private-equity allocation primarily to core fixed income; C splits the reduction with more to fixed income and some to equities; D shifts more toward equities.

Wing said options B or C would be his recommendation, with C ‘‘broadly consistent’’ with the plan's current risk profile and the plan's assumed actuarial rate of return of 7.25 percent. He told the board the glide path to any final targets would occur over several years as private funds return capital and that the county is not recommending additional private-market commitments.

Trustees discussed the tradeoffs. Several trustees said they were inclined toward option C as a middle path that preserves the board's existing risk profile while gradually shifting allocations. Trustee Mayor Russell and others raised short-term concern about equity valuations; Wing and other trustees emphasized the plan's current positive cash flow and noted that adjustments could be staged (for example, initially moving amounts to fixed income and converting some to equity later if market conditions changed).

The board agreed to direct staff to prepare an updated investment policy statement reflecting the chosen long-term destination and to bring the revised policy back for ratification at the next meeting scheduled for Dec. 4, 2025. Wing estimated the glide path to reach the ultimate targets would likely take seven to eight years, depending on capital returns from private funds.

In related action, the board approved a small rebalancing recommended by staff. The trustees voted to transfer $200,000 from cash held outside principal into the Fidelity inflation-protected bond index to reduce the plan's overweight in cash and modestly increase inflation-sensitive fixed-income exposure. Veneta Bankley, the county chief financial officer, moved the rebalancing; Christopher Beyer, the sheriff's office representative, seconded. ‘‘I move to approve the rebalancing recommendation as presented,’’ Bankley said. Chair David Weiskopf called the vote and stated, "Ayes have it. Motion carries." The board also approved the meeting agenda, the Sept. meeting minutes and the plan administrator's report during the session.

Plan-administration items reported by Catherine Pratson, director of human resources and plan administrator, included quarterly professional fees and a recent distribution of benefit statements. Pratson said Marquette Associates' quarterly consulting fee for April 1–June 30 was $33,009 and that the plan attorney fee posted through Sept. 30 was $212.50. She said the actuary's portal and mailed statements for term-vested participants are now available and that custody fees are assessed automatically by the custodian.

The meeting concluded after the formal votes. The board directed staff to prepare the updated investment policy statement for formal consideration at the Dec. 4 meeting.