MINUTES OF THE CITY OF SARASOTA POLICE OFFICERS' PENSION PLAN BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING OF OCTOBER 27, 2023 Present: Vice Chair Johnathan Todd, Secretary/Treasurer Shayla Griggs, and Trustee Ronnie K. Baty Others: Attorney Scott Christiansen, Pension Plans Administrator Debra Martin, and Pension Specialist Peter Gottlieb. Absent: Chair Demetri Konstantopoulos, and Trustee Joseph "Jody" Hudgins. 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Presenter(s): Vice Chair Todd. Vice Chair Todd called the regular meeting of the Police Officers' Pension Plan (Plan) Board of Trustees to order at 8:15 a.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Presenter(s): Secretary/reasurer Griggs. Secretary/Treasurer: Griggs led the Board and those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. PLEDGE OF CIVILITY: Presenter(s): Vice Chair Todd. Vice Chair Todd stated for the record, "We may disagree, but we will be respectful of one another. We will direct all comments to issues. We will not engage in personal attacks. . 4. ROLL CALL: Presenter: Pension Plans Administrator Martin. Pension Plans Administrator Martin called roll. Chair Konstantopoulos and Trustee Hudgins were not present. 5. PUBLIC INPUT: None. 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 6.1. Approval Re: Minutes of the Police Officers' Pension Plan Board of Trustees Regular Meeting of September 22, 2023. Presenter(s): Vice Chair Todd. Trustee Baty made a motion to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 22, 2023; Secretary/reasurer Griggs seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (3-0). 7. RETIREMENT REQUESTS: 7.1. Presentation and Discussion: DROP Retirement Request of Ronald Roberson. Presenter: Debra Martin, Pension Plans Administrator. Book 1 Page 370 10-27-2023 8:15 a.m. Book 1 Page 371 10-27-2023 8:15 a.m. Pension Plans Administrator Martin advised that Officer Roberson requested to enter the DROP effective October 1, 2023, with 23 years of service and at age 51; he selected the 100% to joint annuitant option. Trustee Baty made a motion to accept Officer Roberson's request to enter the DROP; SecretaryTreasurer Griggs seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously (3-0). 8. INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE REVIEW: 8.1. Presentation and Discussion Re: Granite Partners, Investment Performance Summary for Period Ending September 30, 2023. Presenter(s): Bradley G. Slocum, Principal, Co-Founder; Erik U. Rollé, Lead Portfolio Manager & Principal; Granite Partners. Bradley Slocum and Erik Rollé of Granite Partners ("Granite") appeared before the Board telephonically and introduced themselves. Mr. Slocum reviewed the Firm Overview and Large Cap Equity Team pages of the materials, noting there have been no changes to the strategy or investment team, nor are any expected. On the page titled Collaborative Research Focused on Best Ideas, Mr. Slocum explained that, although the Large Cap and Small Cap teams work independently, they collaborate during the research process. The Large Cap Equity Overview provides a high-level view of Granite's objective, philosophy, and portfolio structure. Mr. Slocum explained that some clients benchmark the portfolio to the S&P 500. Currently, the portfolio has 35 stocks, of which approximately 15% are mid-cap, and approximately 3.5% of the portfolio is held in cash. Mr. Rollé discussed the economy and market since 2021. Inflation, rising interest rates, and excessive inventory were significantly headwinds for economic growth; 2023 has been both a normalization and transitional period between the 0% interest rate, COVID-19 economy and the next business cycle which will be focused on capital and operational expenditures. The market was driven in 2023 by the beneficiaries of artificial intelligence ("Al") and GLP1 drugs; the portfolio is expected to outperform as the market diversifies from the "magnificent 7" tech stocks, which are Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, NVidia, and Tesla. The S&P 500 has had greater stock concentrations in previous market cycles than the current magnificent 7; Granite asserts investors should anticipate an inevitable diversification. The economy remains resilient with a 4.9% Gross Domestic Product ("GDP") in Q2 2023; inventories are coming back up, and consumer, business, and govemment expenditures are strong. Businesses and people are adapting to the current economic environment of "higher for longer" interest rates and inflation. Granite expects manufacturing to recover as business spending resumes and the freight recession comes to an end. Consumer spending has slowed but should be better than forecasted considering the strong employment and wage metrics. Higher interest rates are normalizing which should lead to stronger economic growth; the Purchasing Manager Index ("PMI") is in an expansionary range despite the auto worker's strike, and fewer businesses express concerns of a recession. Unprofitable businesses have failed to thrive, and 2024 should bring slow but steady economic growth. Mr. Rollé discussed how the market has changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve's ("Fed's") transition from a 0% interest rate policy to higher rates needed to combat inflation, and the war in the Ukraine. In response to these events and factors, investors have shifted towards conservative and risk-averse strategies; the stocks for companies with strong and steady cashflow growth have outperformed while emerging growth companies' stocks have faltered. Energy, mining, agricultural, aerospace and defense stocks all led the market. Mr. Rollé provided a quarter-by-quarter market history of 2023 year-to-date. He noted that many of the events which concerned investors, such as the contagion risk in the regional banking sector, a potential recession, and the governmental debt ceiling crisis, failed to adversely impact the economy as GDP and employment have remained resilient. Domestic equity markets in 2023 remain significantly elevated due to an economy which has escaped a feared recession as well as continued strong employment and wage growth, which Granite expects to continue into 2024. As the economy and market shift from reacting to rising interest rates to reacting to normalized high interest rates, Granite remains focused on corporate earnings growth as the leading stock indicator. Granite anticipates the next market cycle to be driven by strong employment, higher wages, an acceleration in productivity gains due to AI and next generation factories, and trillions of dollars in government fiscal stimulus over the next decade in the infrastructure sector. Granite does not anticipate a Fed interest rate hike in at least November 2023, if not December 2023 as well; this will be positively received by equity markets. Mr. Rollé asserted the biggest risk going forward is geopolitical, which will further balkanize the global economy and benefit investors with industrial holdings, as well as a resurgence ofi inflation and higher interest rates; he noted that many of the companies Granite holds are able to pass on higher costs to consumers. Mr. Rollé discussed the Large Cap Equity Portfolio Attribution Trailing 1 Year page of the materials and noted that most of the top contributors to the portfolio's performance were related to Al. Amongst its worst contributors, Granite sold off its holdings in PayPal and Thermo Fischer Scientific; it is holding Guardant Health as it is anticipated to receive government approval in 2024 for a colorectal cancer blood test. On the Large Cap Equity Portfolio Activity page, Mr. Rollé explained the portfolio is not sector rotating, and that each new position has some sort of company-driven catalyst for change. He advised that the New Position Weights are the current portfolio weights and not at acquisition; the Liquidated Position Weights are at the time the position was either sold or the company had a thesis-changing event. The Board thanked Mr. Rollé and Mr. Slocum for their presentation. 8.2. Presentation and Discussion Re: Newton Investment Management, Investment Performance Summary for Period Ending September 30, 2023. Presenter(s): Keith Howell, Portfolio Manager; Marielle Gallant, Relationship Manager; Newton Investment Management. Keith Howell and Marielle Gallant of Newton Investment Management ("Newton") appeared before the Board and introduced themselves. Ms. Gallant provided a firm overview, noting its acquisition of BNY Mellon was in September 2021, and the integration is nearing completion; there has been no portfolio management turnover. Mr. Howell reviewed the page of the materials titled Client Performance - City of Sarasota Police Officers' Pension Plan, noting strong relative performance in all timeframes. As a large cap value manager, Newton seeks attractive valuations, strong fundamentals, and improving business momentum; he noted that Newton has a high conviction to its strategy and will not deviate when the market favors growth to value stocks. He reviewed the US Dynamic Large Cap Value One-Year Sector Attribution page, noting that over time, bottom-up stock selection drives Newton's performance. He discussed the companies which aided the portfolio's performance in the Health Care, Utilities, and Financials sectors. Newton sold its position in Alcoa in the Materials sector, which detracted from performance. Mr. Howell provided a market outlook. Newton anticipates continued higher interest rates and an economic slowdown; it is positioning the portfolio accordingly while balancing cyclicality and defensiveness. Newton is finding defensiveness in the Health Care sector and is avoiding Consumer Staples. Energy remains an attractive cyclical sector while it is forgoing industrials; while many industrial stocks perform well because of capital expenditure drivers, the cyclical risks remain within that sector. The Board thanked Mr. Howell and Ms. Gallant for their presentation. 9. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None. 10. NEW BUSINESS: 11. ATTORNEY MATTERS: Attorney Christiansen noted that Chair Konstantopoulos's term expires January 31, 2024, and that the Plan needs to submit an actual expense report to the State of Florida; Pension Plans Administrator Martin confirmed she is working on both items. Book 1 Page 372 10-27-2023 8:15 a.m. Book 1 Page 373 10-27-2023 8:15 a.m. Attorney Christiansen advised that he received a letter from Robbins, Gellar, Rudman & Dowd, LLP ("Robbins"), the Plan's securities monitoring firm, advising of a potential class action against the company CS Disco, but that Robbins did not ask the Plan to pursue lead plaintiff status. Attorney Christiansen advised that he received an application for disability from Takiya Ainscoe, and he is in the process of obtaining medical records. Attorney Christiansen advised that he and other pension attorneys in Florida have developed a template to use to submit a comprehensive report to the State of Florida regarding the recently passed House Bill 3, which prohibits public entity pension plans from making investment decisions on non-pecuniary factors. Reporting will be made through an on-line portal. 12. OTHER MATTERS: 12.1. Presentation and Discussion Re Asset Allocation as of October 17, 2023. Presenter(s): Debra Martin, Pension Plans Administrator. Pension Plans Administrator Martin presented the asset allocation. The Board had no questions. Pension Plans Administrator Martin advised, regarding Chair Konstantopoulos S expiring term, that Pension Administration has received two nomination forms and therefore the Plan will have an election. She explained that the Operating Rules, which the Board sets for itself, require ballots for trustee elections to be sent out within 10 days of the due date for nomination petitions, for participants to have 21 calendar days to submit ballots, and for the sealed ballots to be opened at a Board Meeting within 10 days of their due date. Based on the 21-day voting period and when nomination petitions were due, ballots would need to be opened by December 5, 2023, however the next regular Board Meeting is scheduled for December 8, 2023, which is 13 days. Because the Operating Rules are set by the Board, the Board may choose to amend the rules to allow the ballots to be opened at the December 8, 2023, meeting, or it may hold a special meeting by December 5, 2023, to open ballots; a motion is required for either option. Trustee Baty made a motion to waive the 10-day rule in the Operating Rules applicable to when election ballots must be opened, and allow ballots to be opened at the December 8, 2023, Regular Meeting; Secretary/Treasurer: Griggs seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (3-0). 13. ADJOURN. Vice Chair Todd adjourned the meeting at 9:02 a.m. SM Ami Chair Démetri Konstantopoulos Secretanyjeasurer Shayla Giggs