Fund board chair thinks twice of resigning

The transition committee assigned to the NMI Retirement Fund seems to be “open-minded” as it displayed willingness to listen and understand the challenges facing the government’s retirement system, according to board chair Joseph Reyes.

“I have no doubt that they are great selections to serve on the transition committee. They are both educated, very much open-minded. They are retirees. Most importantly, they can listen,” said Reyes.

The subcommittee reviewing the Fund’s performance is headed by Alvaro Santos and Gonzalo Santos.

Reyes said the Fund has cooperated fully with the transition team.

“I have disclosed a lot of difficulties we face each day. I have nothing to hide. The management of the Fund has worked with them and we are still open any time for additional review [if they] desire,” he said, adding that the committee members also attended the board meeting Thursday night.

Reyes, a former chairman of the Republican Party, said the transition committee gave no hint that current board members should resign in view of the assumption to power next month of governor-elect Benigno R. Fitial and lieutenant governor-elect Timothy P. Villagomez of the Covenant Party.

Personally, Reyes said that he is “reluctant” to step down “for the simple reason that [we] have done a tremendous job.”

“But if it so dictated, I’d be more than happy to step out,” he added quickly.

Reyes said he is aware that, under the law, he has to serve his term, but he is also considering resigning “for courtesy” reasons.

In case he resigns, he hopes the next administration would carefully evaluate the qualifications of each appointee, noting that any wrong move by the board leadership would jeopardize the retirement system, which currently has over $526 million in unfunded liabilities.

He said appointees to the board should have extensive knowledge of investments, in particular stock market investments.

“You’ve got to speak the language. Otherwise, given the unfunded liability of over $526 million, any wrong move is money lost. And that would be ranging from a dollar to millions of dollars,” he said.

He also said that any replacement of board members would cost additional money.

“Bear in mind that we’ve got to train the board members,” he said.

Further, he said that, since he became chairman, he made it a point that all money managers’ annual meeting be held on Saipan, instead of overseas.

“The board was broken into various committees. They’ve done a heck of a job,” he said.

Reyes expressed pride over the current board’s accomplishments, citing that it was able to recover $130 million in stock market losses incurred in 2000 and 2001.

“One of my biggest praises to my board and management was the recovery of a stock market loss of $130 million. We have recovered it and we’ve added a lot more in the millions to that. Right now, the Fund, as far as investment is concerned, is at its highest ever in the last 25 years,” said Reyes.

The Fund earlier said that its stock market investments have gone up from $278 million in 2002 to over $400 million this year. As of September 2005, the Fund said that stock market assets totaled $425 million.

Total assets, which include both local and international investments, amount to about $534 million.

Likewise, the Fund said last month that, for the first time in many years, the NMI Retirement Fund is in the No. 1 percentile rank—among the top performing Funds in its category.

As of end of the third quarter, the Fund’s return on investment was up at 5.1 percent.

Reyes said the good performance was due to the Fund’s detailed review of its investment strategy, asset allocation, termination of nonfunctional money managers, and the hiring of others.

The Fund’s large capital equities represent 50 percent of its investment while small cap represents 13 percent. International equities and fixed income represent 13 percent each. TIPS or Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities reflect 5 percent of total investments, while cash assets are at 4 percent.

The Fund’s investment is handled by 10 money managers that regularly report to Merrill Lynch. These include Atalanta, Sabre, S&P 500 Idex Fund, Stratem, Renaissance, Nicholas-Applegate, Gabelli, EAFE ETF, Templeton, Provident, and IRM.