Houston Firefighters Relief and Retirement Fund Board of Trustees met Sept. 19

Houston Firefighters Relief and Retirement Fund Board of Trustees met Sept. 19.

Here are the minutes provided by the board:

A regular meeting of the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF) Board of Trustees convened at the Fund offices at 4225 Interwood North Parkway, Houston, Texas 77032 on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, at 10:00 a.m.

Trustees present were Brett R. Besselman (Chair), Lisa R. Slagle (Secretary), Gerard L. Daniels, Pete Ng, David O. Lantrip, Arif Rasheed, and Albertino Mays. Trustees absent were Stephen R. Whitehead, David Riegor, and Earnest W. Wotring. Also present were staff members Timothy Schauer (Executive Director), Ajit Singh (Chief Investment Officer), Claudia McInnis (Director of Finance & Administration), Dalia De La Cruz (Director of Member Services), Andrea Sharayha (Director of Human Resources), John D. Moore II (Director of Technology and Building Services), and Adam E. Smith (General Counsel).

The Chair called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.

The Board recited the Pledge of Allegiance and observed a moment of silence.

The Chair invited comments from the public. No comments were received.

There was a motion by Pete Ng, seconded by David O. Lantrip, to approve the following items listed on the consent agenda:

A. Approval of the minutes of the regular Board meeting held on Tuesday, August 15, 2023.

B. Approval of the minutes of the Pension Benefits Committee meeting held on Tuesday, August 15, 2023.

C. Approval of the minutes of the Memorial Committee meeting held on Tuesday, August 15, 2023.

D. Approval of the minutes of the Investment Committee meeting held on Tuesday, August 15, 2023.

E. Approval for the Chief Investment Officer to attend the 2023 Kildare Partners Annual Investor Conference on September 13-14, 2023, in Grapevine, TX with (1) night of hotel accommodation to be paid by the Kildare Partners.

F. Approval for the Chief Investment Officer to attend the BlackRock GCO II Investor Committee Annual meeting on October 2-3, 2023, in New York, NY with airfare and (2) nights of hotel accommodation to be paid by BlackRock.

G. Approval for the Senior Investment Officer to attend the ARCIS - ESD Fund V and VI Advisory Committee meetings on October 2-3, 2023, in Dana Point, CA with airfare, transportation, and one (1) night of hotel accommodation to be paid by the ARCIS Group.

H. Approval for the Senior Investment Officer to attend the HarbourVest Partners 2023 Dover Street Annual Meeting on November 8-9, 2023, in Boston, MA, with one (1) night of hotel accommodation to be paid by HarbourVest Partners.

The motion carried.

There was a motion by Lisa R. Slagle, seconded by Pete Ng, to approve the Chief Investment Officer’s travel outside the 48 contiguous United States to attend the Phoenix Annual Investors meeting on November 14-15, 2023, in Sydney, Australia with airfare and three (3) nights of hotel accommodation to be paid by Phoenix. The motion carried.

There was a motion by Lisa R. Slagle, seconded by Pete Ng, to approve the Senior Investment Officer’s travel outside the 48 contiguous United States to attend the Nordic Capital Advisory Committee meeting on November 28-29, 2023, in Stockholm, Sweden with airfare and two (2) nights of hotel accommodation to be paid by Nordic Capital. The motion carried.

The Executive Director provided an update on the Fund’s roof replacement project.

The Chair announced that the Board was going into closed session pursuant to Government Code Section 551.071 to obtain the confidential advice of legal counsel regarding a declaratory judgment lawsuit relating to informal marriage. The Board went into closed session at 10:05 a.m. and resumed open session at 10:31 a.m.

The Chair explained the proposed changes to the Board and Committee Procedures of the Fund’s Policies and Procedures manual regarding officer elections. There was a motion by Arif Rasheed, seconded by Pete Ng, to approve the proposed changes to the Board and Committee Procedures of the Fund’s Policies and Procedures manual, as presented. The motion carried.

The meeting adjourned at 10:37 a.m. on a motion by Pete Ng, seconded by David O. Lantrip. The motion carried.

https://www.hfrrf.org/_files/ugd/576db6_d396bf384e6f4058b8c794926dd576aa.pdf