St. Mary's County retiree trust posts double‑digit fiscal returns; committee accepts Q2 report

David Weiskopf, St. Mary's County administrator and chair of the Retiree Benefit Trust Committee, opened the meeting on Aug. 28 and moved to accept the trust's Q2 performance report as presented. "I move to accept the Q2 report as presented," Weiskopf said; the motion carried after a voice vote of "Aye."

Patrick Wing, the presenter, told the committee the trust's market value at the end of the fiscal year was "$141,500,000" and that the net investment change contributed approximately $10.4 million, producing a fiscal‑year return the presenter described as "just under 14%" when preliminary private‑market values are included. Wing noted that private‑market valuations for Q2 were still pending and could modestly revise the published figures.

Wing framed recent returns against economic context: headline GDP growth slowed in Q2 to about 1.5%, but he said underlying activity appeared stronger and that large AI/data‑center investment had raised input prices and contributed to elevated inflation. He cautioned that liability‑side measurements in the next actuarial valuation will determine whether the funded ratio improves further. "So if we think about next fiscal year and contributions, we'll be able to shoot for that lower number if money starts going back into the plan," Wing said.

The committee accepted the report without amendment. The chair and staff said they will return in October with an updated asset‑allocation analysis that incorporates private‑credit and infrastructure options discussed during the meeting.