Retirement committees add Geneva and Allspring to watch lists after mixed Q4 results

Patrick Wing of Marquette Associates presented the Frederick County retirement plans’ Q4 2025 performance, reporting that the Employees Plan held about $1.25 billion in assets and posted a 1.6% net return for the quarter versus a 2.1% policy index return. The committee recorded positive attribution to managers including Harding Loevner, IFM and Brookfield and noted underperformance among several active U.S. equity managers and aspects of the fixed‑income structure.

Marquette recommended removing Segall, Bryant & Hamill from the Employees Plan watch list after organizational concerns were resolved and recommended moving Geneva, which has lagged across short‑, intermediate‑ and long‑term periods, onto the watch list. The committee approved the motion to add Geneva to the watch list; the motion was made by Melanie Thom and seconded by Tyler Muntz and passed unanimously.

For the DROP Plan, Marquette flagged Allspring for significant underperformance and noted an impending portfolio manager transition in April that, combined with the performance record, supported adding Allspring to the DROP watch list. The committee approved placing Allspring on the watch list on a unanimous motion by Tyler Muntz, seconded by Emily C. Fiftal.

Committee members asked whether watch‑list placement would trigger a formal manager search; Marquette and Bolton explained that watch‑list status signals elevated monitoring and may lead to a formal search only if performance fails to improve. The committee’s approvals formalize enhanced oversight for the two managers while preserving continuity for better‑performing managers.