Joint Fort Worth City Council & Retirement Fund Board Meeting - June 9, 2026
Joint Fort Worth City Council and Employees Retirement Fund Board Meeting
On June 9, 2026, the Fort Worth City Council and the Fort Worth Employees Retirement Fund Board held a joint meeting to review the pension fund's financial status, investment performance, and long-term outlook. The meeting featured presentations from the fund's actuary and chief investment officer, highlighting significant progress in reducing the unfunded liability and improving the funded ratio. No formal votes were taken; the session was informational.
Discussion Items
- Actuarial Review: Joseph Newton of Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company presented the annual actuarial valuation. Key metrics included:
- Active membership grew 10% in the past year (20% over three years), increasing covered payroll by nearly 14%.
- Investment returns of 14% in fiscal 2025 (7.6% five-year compound return, exceeding the 7% assumption).
- Unfunded accrued liability decreased from $2.41 billion to $2.38 billion, with the funding period shortening from 29 years to 24 years—a four-year improvement from last year and six years from two years ago.
- Funded ratio improved from 55% to 57%.
- The fund is nearly back on the original 2018 reform timeline (23 years expected vs. actual 24 years, within two months).
- Newton cautioned that active headcount growth has been the primary driver; a contraction could reverse progress. He also explained the risk-sharing contribution mechanism and that ad hoc COLA reinstatement could occur if the baseline funding period falls to 28 years (currently 32 years without risk-sharing contributions).
- Investment Performance & Outlook: Derek Dagnan, Chief Investment Officer, reviewed 2025 market conditions and fund performance.
- 2025 global stock returns were strong (~22%), with emerging markets up 34%. The fund’s portfolio returned over 14% for the year, ending with a market value of approximately $3.3 billion.
- Over 3-, 5-, and 10-year periods, the fund exceeded the 7% target and outperformed benchmarks, placing in the top quartile among U.S. pension funds over five years.
- Dagnan noted that long-term forward return expectations are 6.7% (slightly below the 7% target), requiring higher risk exposure. A 25-basis-point shortfall equates to a ~2% increase in employer contribution rates.
- He identified headwinds from sticky inflation reflected in long-term Treasury yields and rich valuations in risky assets.
- Councilmember Flores inquired about trade policy impacts on emerging market projections; Dagnan explained currency appreciation and low Chinese valuations as drivers, but acknowledged policy uncertainty.
- Board and Council Q&A: Board Chairman Doug Wilson expressed optimism about the fund’s trajectory, noting the strong team and new board member David Cook. Councilmember Jim LeCamp reiterated the challenging investment environment ahead, cautioning that past three years’ performance may not be repeatable.
Key Outcomes
- The boards and council received the actuarial and investment reports without formal action.
- The city is now in a position of positive amortization (expected to begin reducing the unfunded liability annually without relying on asset outperformance).
- The fund’s improved metrics are likely to be noted favorably by bond rating agencies.
- No future agenda items were requested; the meeting was adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, good afternoon, and thank you all for joining us. I will call our joint Fort City Council and Fourth Employees Retirement Fund Board meeting to order. Today is Tuesday, June 9th, and we greatly appreciate the effort by the triumph board staff and our board members for taking time to attend today. This time I will call on Chairman Doug Wilson for a few opening remarks, and then we'll not go around the table and make introductions before we start the substance of the meeting. Thank you. Doug? Thank you, Mayor. We are honored to be here with you guys and uh believe that we've got a very positive report to bring to your attention today. Uh the state of the fund is doing well with Linda Webb, our new executive director. Definitely getting some traction on board with us. Um, Mary El Shot, I mean, just the team is is in good shape as I've seen it since I've been appointed. And the one vacant seat that we needed a mayor oral appointee. We are proud to have our brother David Cook filling those shoes. David has hit the ground running, he's uh done his orientation, and we've got him appointed to committees, and Katie holds the door. He's he's off to the races. Anyway, things are going well. So thanks very much for allowing us to join you today, and we look forward to the the rest of today's report. Thank you, Doug. Appreciate that. And David, you don't have the excuse of not knowing what you're getting into because you know exactly what you were getting into, right? Um that's great. Well, I'll maybe I'll start over here, Andrew, if you don't mind kicking things off, and we'll go around the table with our um our board appointees first, and then council members want to tag along they can. Sure, thank you. Good afternoon. I'm Andrea Wright, uh, the vice chair of the retirement fund. I've been on the board for eight years now, and I represent 50 percent of the active general employees. Thank you, Michael. Thank you, Michael. I've been on the board since my first year, I'll represent the race of three. Very well. Thank you, David. Thank you. Thanks, Wanda. Uh Roger Zeno, CFO for the city. That was just our reminder to turn your microphones on so they can broadcast appropriately. Thank you. Um, and Linda, before I turn it over here, we have our council members are here, some of which you've gotten to meet before. Some of them, this is their first joint board meeting, and we've started this tradition years ago. I think it's an important update to so the partnership between the city of Fort Worth and our retirement fund on behalf of our employees and really heavy cooperation, especially on Reggie's part on the city finance team. So, Dr. Hall, if you want to introduce yourself, please go ahead on Path of District Six. Hi, Dr. Mia Hall, uh City Councilwoman for District Sixth, and obviously I think I celebrated my one year, it's coming up. Well, elected one year on the 7th. One year is coming up. Thank you, Mia. Michael? Michael Crane, representing District 3 on the city council. Carlos, we heard from you earlier to Jeanette. Sorry.
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