Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Pension trustees vote to move underperforming MFS growth allocation to Vanguard index option
Loading...
Summary
Trustees approved a motion to replace the MFS Growth active manager with a Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth institutional share (VRGWX) or, if unavailable, the cheaper ETF option, citing persistent underperformance and fee considerations.
Trustees of the Town of Indian River Shores pension plan voted to move the plan's allocation out of the underperforming MFS Growth fund and into a Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth option.
Brad Bridal of Mariner Institutional framed the recommendation during the quarterly investment review, saying the MFS Growth mandate "keeps underperforming" and that "it's hard to justify keeping that MFS growth given the continued underperformance" (transcript). He offered low-cost Vanguard alternatives — the institutional VRGWX or ETF VONG — as replacements to reduce fees and tracking error concerns.
Trustee (speaker 5) moved to transfer the MFS Growth allocation to Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth institutional shares (VRGWX) or, if the plan cannot access the institutional share class, to the ETF alternative; Trustee 7 seconded the motion. After short discussion about active versus passive management, the board voted by voice, and the motion carried (recorded as a voice “Aye” in the meeting transcript).
Why it matters: the change shifts a portion of the plan’s domestic equity exposure from an actively managed product to lower-cost index exposure, which trustees said would reduce fees and simplify manager oversight. Bridal noted the plan has largely benchmarked domestic equity already and that indexing would align with the board’s policy index if the motion is executed.
What’s next: staff and the custodian/record-keeper will implement the transfer and confirm share class access; the transcript records the motion and vote but does not include an itemized, named roll-call tally. Implementation details (timing, tax/transaction costs, exact dollar amounts) were not resolved in the meeting record and will be handled administratively by staff and the investment consultant.
Ending: The board adopted the change by voice vote and returned to other agenda items, including continued review of private real estate and the actuarial valuation.
