Merced County (Calif.) Employees' Retirement Association's board approved a further delegation of investment authority to its plan administrator to allow rebalancing actions during periods of high market volatility.
The $816 million pension fund's board on Thursday approved a recommendation by Plan Administrator Kristen Santos to expand her authority to rebalance up to 2.5% of plan assets in tandem with investment consultant Meketa Investment Group due to current market conditions that have resulted from the COVID-19 crisis, Ms. Santos confirmed in an email.
The board previously granted Ms. Santos investment authority in 2018 to sign legal contracts and documents, as well as rebalancing specifically for liquidity needs or capital calls on alternative investments.
Since the pension fund's board is otherwise the authority in all investment decisions, Ms. Santos said "in an abundance of transparency, I updated the policy and brought (it) to them for times like these."
As of March 31, the pension fund's total assets fell to $816 million from $909 million as of Dec. 31.
