2005 Minutes of Synod - Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church

108 MINUTES OF THE GENERAL SYNODThe Retirement Committee of the Board of Benefits serves as Administratorof the Plan.Retirement Plan TrustSunTrust Bank, Atlanta, serves as Trustee of the Plan and its affiliate,TRUSCO Capital Management, handles investments. Deutsche BancAlex.Brown serves as an investment consultant to provide performancemeasurement and monitoring and to assist the Retirement Committee indeveloping and maintaining investment guidelines. Compensation for theinvestment consultant is through directed trades. The Board meets withrepresentatives of SunTrust Bank, TRUSCO Capital Management, andDeutsche Banc Alex.Brown twice each year. The relationship between theinvestment consultant and the investment manager is increasingly supportiveand has been very beneficial to the Retirement Committee andBoard.The Board has an Investment Policy Statement to guide the investmentmanagers and this policy statement is reviewed on a periodic basisAt December 31, 2004, invested net assets available for benefits, on amarket basis, totaled $35,311,269 as compared to $32,336,798 at December31, 2003.Calendar year 2004 resulted in a return on investments of 6.8% ascompared to a benchmark of 4.8%. The Retirement Plan Fund is expectedto exceed benchmark returns over a five-year time period or a full marketcycle. The benchmarks are: 30% of the S&P 500/Barra Growth, 18% of theS&P 500/Barra Value, 6% of the S&P 600 Small Cap Index, 6% of the MSCIEAFE Index (international stocks), and 40% of the Lehman BrothersGovernment/Credit Bond Index. These benchmarks became applicable forthe first quarter 2000. Benchmarks for the 5-year and 10-year periods arebased on 60% S&P 500 and 40% Lehman Brothers.1 Yr 3 Yrs* 5 yrs* 10 Yrs*Total Portfolio 6.08% 5.20% 3.60% 9.90%Benchmark 4.80% 5.30% 1.37% 9.36%* Annualized returnsThe General Synod funds the Plan, primarily from contributions madeby churches and agencies of the General Synod. The General Synod, onrecommendation of the Board, establishes contribution guidelines toensure adequate funds. The current guidelines ask that churches andagencies contribute 8.5% of the Participant’s Earnings. Because of regulationsgoverning qualified plans, the Earnings recognized for RetirementPlan purposes are limited to an amount not to exceed the thresholdestablished for Highly Compensated Employees (HCEs). The maximumEarnings for 2004 was $90,000 but increases to $95,000 for 2005. Thisamount is subject to annual adjustment by the IRS. All funds received for