- SCERA Background
- Governance
- Meet Your Retirement Board
- Funding
- Investments
- Summary of Investment Policies
- Industry Concentrations of Portfolio Assets
- List of Professional Consultants
SCERA Background
The Sonoma County Employees Retirement Association (SCERA) is a public employee retirement system that was established by the County of Sonoma on January 1, 1946. SCERA is administered by the Board of Retirement ("Board") to provide retirement, disability, death, and survivor benefits for its employees under the California State Government Code, Section 31450 et.seq. (County Employees Retirement Law of 1937).
SCERA was established on January 1, 1946, to provide retirement allowances and other benefits to the safety and general members employed by Sonoma County and five other participating agencies as listed below:
Sonoma County Water Agency
Valley of the Moon Fire District
Community Development Commission
Sonoma County Transportation Authority
Superior Court of California – County of Sonoma
SCERA is governed by the California Constitution, the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, and the bylaws, procedures and policies adopted by the SCERA Board. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors or the governing bodies of the other agencies may also adopt resolutions, as permitted by the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, which may affect benefits of SCERA members.
Governance
The Sonoma County Employees Retirement
Association Board of Retirement is responsible
for establishing policies governing the administration
of the retirement plan, making benefit determinations
and managing the investment of the systems
assets. The day-to-day management of
SCERA is delegated to an Administrator appointed
by the Board.
The SCERA Board of Retirement is a nine member Board,
four of whom are appointed by the Sonoma County Board
of Supervisors, four of whom are elected by SCERAs
membership, and the County Treasurer (Meet
Your Retirement Board). Board members, with the
exception of the County Treasurer, serve three-year
terms in office with no term limits.
The system is managed by a nine member Board of Retirement and an Alternate Retiree member.
Representation on the Board is as follows:
| Members | Representing | Elected
or Appointed by: |
|---|---|---|
| First (ex-officio) |
Member
and Public Representatives |
California
Law |
| Second and Third |
General Members |
General Members |
| Fourth, Fifth, Sixth
and Ninth |
Public Representatives |
Board of Supervisors |
| Seventh |
Law Enforcement and Fire
Suppression Members |
Safety Members |
| Eighth and Eighth Alternate |
Retired Members |
Retired Members |
Regular Board of Retirement meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month at 8:30 am at the Board Conference Room, 433 Aviation Boulevard, Suite 100, Santa Rosa, California. Meetings are open to the public. Requests of the Board should be submitted in writing to the Board Secretary, Retirement Administrator Gary Bei, at the Retirement Office. View the current board agendas and minutes from the most recent
meetings.
There are two standing committees that meet on a monthly basis the Investment Committee and the Disability Committee. Additionally, there is an Administrative/Benefits Committee, which meets on an ad hoc basis as necessary. A fourth committee was added as a result of Governance Review in 2004 - Audit Committee. It meets 2-3 times per year. The meeting dates and times may vary, so please consult the (Calendar of Events).
Meet Your SCERA Board of Retirement

Gerald "Jerry" Allen
Elected by General Members
Jerry Allen is a Social Services Supervisor II with the Human Services Department who came to work for Sonoma County in 1992. First elected in September of 2003, Mr. Allen is serving on the Audit and Disability Committees and continues to serve as the Chair of the Investment Committee.

Alfred A. Alys
Appointed by the Board of Supervisors
Alfred Alys is the retired Chief Executive Officer of Northbay Savings Bank headquartered in Petaluma, California. He currently serves as a board member on the Sonoma County Open Space Commission, also. First appointed to the Retirement Board in 1978, Mr. Alys serves on the Investment and Audit Committees.

Michael A. Chrystal
Retiree, Elected by Retired Members
Mike Chrystal retired from a long public service career with Marin County (six years) and Sonoma County (over 30 years) in September of 2004. He served over four years as the County Administrator. Mr. Chrystal first served the retiree membership as the first Alternate Retiree Trustee, appointed by the Retirement Board in February 2006. Mr. Chrystal has since been elected and re-elected as the Retiree member and is serving on the Administrative/Benefits, Audit and Disability Committees.

Rod Dole
Auditor/Controller-Treasurer/Tax Collector
Ex-Officio Trustee
The Treasurer/Tax Collector position carries with it the responsibility of serving as a member of the Retirement Board. In the summer of 2006, the elected Treasurer/Tax Collector position was combined with the elected Auditor/Controller position and Mr. Dole assumed this combined position. He has been the Auditor/Controller since 1986 and with the County for over 30 years. Mr. Dole serves on the Investment Committee and is Chairman of the Audit Committee.

Dianne Edwards
Alternate Retiree, Elected by Retired Members
Dianne Edwards joined the Retirement Board in January 2009 after being elected to replace Tom Ford. She retired in October of 2006 after a 34 year career as a public servant, 10 of which were here at Sonoma County as the Director of Human Services. Mrs. Edwards is also member of the Board of Directors of Community Foundation Sonoma County. She is serving on the Administrative/Benefits, Audit and Disability Committees.

Greg Jahn
Appointed by the Board of Supervisors
Greg Jahn is the former SCERA Assistant Retirement Administrator who has a distinguished history in the local finance/banking industry. He is now the Chief Financial Officer at Exchange Bank. Mr. Jahn has been on the Board since January 2003 and serves as a member of the Investment and Audit Committees.

Paul Kelley
Appointed by the Board of Supervisors
Paul Kelley, a native of Sonoma County, was first elected to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for the 4th District in 1994. He is currently serving his fourth term as Supervisor. He was appointed by the Board of Supervisors in the fall of 2008 to complete the term of retiring Supervisor and Retirement Board Trustee Tim Smith and Supervisor Kelley’s term began in January 2009. He is serving on the Administrative/Benefits and Disability Committees.

Kiergan Pegg
Elected by General Members
Kiergan Pegg is the Administrative Services Director for the County Health Services Department. Prior to this position, he served as the chief finance officer for several County departments during his more than 10 years of public service. He is a Certified Public Finance Officer of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Mr. Pegg was elected to the Retirement Board in 2009 and currently serves on the Investment Committee.

Sharon Stockham
Appointed by the Board of Supervisors
Sharon Stockham is the retired Vice President of Human Resources at Exchange Bank in Santa Rosa. Sharon was first appointed to the Retirement Board in 1994. She currently serves as Chair of the Disability Committee and also serves on the Administrative/Benefits Committee.

Kimber Williams
Elected by Safety Members
Kimber Williams has been a Correctional Sergeant with the County Sheriff’s Office since 1992 and began work at the County in 1987. She is the State President for the National Association of Field Training Officers (NAFTO) and sits on the board of NAFTO’s National Chapter. Ms. Williams was elected to the Retirement Board in 2009 and currently serves on the Disability Committee.
Funding
SCERAs funding objective is to meet long-term benefit promises by retaining a well-funded plan status as well as to obtain optimum returns consistent with the assumption of prudent risk. As a result, employer contributions remain approximately level as a percent of member payroll. The greater the level of overall plan funding, the larger the ratio of assets accumulated relative to the actuarial accrued liability and the greater the level of investment potential.
Pursuant to provisions in the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, SCERA engages an independent actuarial firm to perform actuarial valuations of the system annually. Additionally, every three years, a triennial experience study of the members of SCERA is completed. The economic and non-economic assumptions are updated at the time each triennial valuation is performed. Triennial valuations serve as the basis for changes in member and employer contribution rates necessary to properly fund the system. The most recent triennial valuation, which was completed by The Segal Company, was performed as of December 31, 2008. The recommendations from the 2008 study were incorporated into the 2009 valuation. As of the most recent valuation of December 31, 2009, the funded ratio (the ratio of system assets to system liabilities) was 79.6%.
Investments
The Board of Retirement has exclusive
control of all investments of the retirement
system and is responsible for the establishment
of investment objectives, strategies and
policies. The Board is authorized to invest
in any form or type of investment deemed
prudent in the informed opinion of the
Board. Members of the Board serve in a
fiduciary capacity and must discharge their
duties with respect to SCERA and the investment
portfolio. The assets of SCERA are exclusively
managed by external professional investment
management firms (a listing of all investment
professionals who provide services to SCERA
can be found clicking here: (List
of Professional Consultants). The investment
staff closely monitors the activity of
these managers and assists the Board with
implementation of investment policies and
long-term investment strategies and establishing
the investment program goals, asset allocation
policies, performance objectives, investment
management policies and risk controls.
A summary of the most recent asset allocation
can be found in the News & Reference
Page - Investment Portfolio Asset
Allocation section.
(See
Investment Plan Policy and Guidelines.)
SCERA maintains a long-term investment strategy which has proven itself over time, even with the recent market downturn included. As of December 31, 2009, SCERA investments provided an annualized rate of return, net of fees, for 30 years of 9.3%. Current Investment Performance can be viewed in the News & Reference Page - Investment Performance Updates section.
Summary of Investment Policies
The County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (Law) authorizes the Board of Retirement with exclusive control over the investment of SCERAs investment portfolio. The Law allows for the Board to invest, or delegate the authority to invest the investment portfolio through the purchase, holding, or sale of any form or type of investment, financial instrument or financial transaction when prudent in the informed opinion of the Board.
Additionally, the Law requires that the Board and its officers and employees shall discharge their duties with respect to SCERA and the investment portfolio as follows:
- Solely in the interest of, and for the exclusive purposes for providing benefits to, participants and their beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering SCERA.
- With the care, skill, prudence, and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with these matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims.
- Shall diversify the investment portfolio to minimize the risk of loss and to maximize the rate of return, unless under the circumstances it is clearly prudent not to do so.
Industry Concentrations of Portfolio Assets
The Board of Trustees’ policies and guidelines enable the portfolio to invest in numerous asset classes and to take advantage of professional investment managers with diverse management’s styles. The result is a well-diversified portfolio.
Summary of Investment Objectives
The Retirement Board adopted an Investment
Policy Statement, which reflects the Boards
policy for the management of SCERAs investments.
The Board is responsible for overseeing the investment activities for SCERA. This includes, but is not limited to, selecting acceptable asset classes; defining allowable ranges of holdings by asset class and by individual investment managers as a percent of assets; defining investment guidelines within each asset class; and establishing investment performance expectations. The Board makes revisions to this Investment Policy as necessary.
The Board has adopted a long-term investment horizon such that the chances and duration of investment losses are carefully weighed against the long-term potential for appreciation of assets. The assets of SCERA will be invested in a manner that provides the protection and diversification that a prudent investor would employ. All transactions undertaken on behalf of the SCERA will be in the sole interest of the participants.
SCERAs primary investment objective is to exceed the long-run actuarial assumption for return on assets. The risk to be assumed must be considered appropriate for the return anticipated and consistent with the total diversification of the fund.
An integral part of the overall Investment Policy is the strategic asset allocation policy. This allocation mix is designed to provide an optimal mix of asset categories with maximum return expectations for a selected level of expected risk. Diversification protects the fund from declines that a particular asset class may experience in a given period.
Summary of Proxy Voting Guidelines
and Procedures
Voting of proxy ballots shall be in accordance
with SCERAs Investment
Policy Statement. The investment managers shall
review each proxy ballot and vote them in a manner
that preserves and enhances shareholder value.
Each investment manager shall keep accurate written
records of all proxy votes and, at least annually,
provide a detailed report to the Investment Committee,
documenting all votes.
List
of Professional Consultants
as of December 31, 2009
| Consulting Services | Investment Managers |
|---|---|
Actuary Auditors Custodian Data Processing Investment Consultants County Counsel, County of Sonoma Neil Baker, Attorney at Law Suzanne DeKozan, Attorney at Law Hanson, Bridget, Marcus, Vlahos, Rudy LLP Ice Miller, LLP K&L Gates, LLP Patrick Richardson, Attorney at Law
|
Enhanced Core Fixed Income U.S. Broad Mandate Equity Large Cap Value Equity Large Cap Growth Equity Small Cap Value Equity Small Cap Growth Equity International Equity Global Equity Real Estate |