Winter Springs trustees hear Mariner investment report, appoint leadership and request asset-allocation review

The Winter Springs Board of Trustees met April 9, 2026, appointed Marco Santoro chair and Arif Reed vice chair for the coming year, and directed Mariner investment consultants to produce an updated asset-allocation analysis and Investment Policy Statement (IPS) recommendations.

Mariner representatives David West and Jack Evett presented the quarterly investment report, telling trustees the overall fund remained within its targeted ranges and had performed well versus peers. "We're a little bit higher on the equity side than we would normally be," Evett said, and noted several timing- and liquidity-related quirks at the manager level that affected reported quarterly numbers.

The presentation singled out two private real-estate holdings. Evett said one manager, Intercontinental, had recently sold a single medical-office property at a loss and that managers have redemption "gates" and exit queues. He said the Intercontinental queue included about $800 million of redemptions being worked through and that trustees are in line to receive distributions as managers process redemptions. Evett described the events as a one-time drag to that manager's quarter and said Mariner was monitoring the situation.

Trustees asked for broader context on whether direct real-estate targets (currently set in the IPS at 10% of the plan) remain appropriate given changing liability and market conditions. One trustee moved to direct the consultants to prepare a comparative asset-allocation review tied to the plan's liabilities and return with updated policy options; the motion passed by voice vote.

Votes at a glance: - Motion to appoint Marco Santoro chair for the calendar year (moved by Committee member, seconded): approved by voice vote. - Motion to appoint Arif Reed vice chair (moved by Committee member, seconded): approved by voice vote. - Motion to approve two sets of prior meeting records (one attendee argued an entry should be labeled "notes" because no quorum met at that earlier gathering): approved by voice vote. - Motion directing Mariner to prepare an IPS/asset-allocation analysis for the next meeting (moved by Committee member, seconded): approved by voice vote.

Mariner also reviewed manager-level performance: domestic equity and fixed income allocations had outperformed benchmarks over several measurement periods, and certain private-credit partnerships (Crescent direct lending funds) were nearly fully distributed and carried minimal exposure. The consultants described private-real-estate distributions received during the period (a roughly $140,000 distribution from one fund) and noted some lingering redemptions and queue backlogs at other managers.

The board ended the investment portion of the meeting by recognizing David West, who is beginning a professional transition; West thanked trustees and said he had enjoyed working with the board. The trustees then moved to the public-input portion of the meeting.

Next steps: Mariner will be asked to return with an updated asset-allocation study tied to the plan's current liability profile and a recommended IPS update for trustees to review at the next meeting.