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City of Dearborn General Retirement System (Chapter 22)
The City of Dearborn General Retirement System, established under Chapter 22 of the municipal code, serves as the pension vehicle for non-public-safety city...
City of Dearborn General Retirement System (Chapter 22)
The City of Dearborn General Retirement System, established under Chapter 22 of the municipal code, serves as the pension vehicle for non-public-safety city employees. Randa Dagher leads the Board of Trustees, which includes member-elected representatives and a CSC appointee — a governance blend that mirrors Michigan's statutory framework for local retirement systems. The plan shares administrative infrastructure and legal counsel with Dearborn's police and fire system (Chapter 23), a sister entity often moving in tandem on investment decisions. The system allocates capital across secondaries, direct real estate, and credit. Known portfolio positions include Ryman Hospitality Properties, a lodging REIT, alongside commingled credit vehicles — the Loomis Sayles Credit Asset Trust and Baird Core Plus Fund. This three-asset-class triangle — real property equity, private credit pools, and secondary transactions — gives the plan a defensive tilt unusual for a municipal system its size. Co-investment patterns with Chapter 23, where documented, suggest that both boards use overlapping consultant relationships to negotiate fee terms on private-market commitments. Board composition reflects statutory requirements: elected members serve alongside a Civil Service Commission appointee. Chair Dagher's tenure and Vice Chair Brzys's role anchor the investment committee, which reviews manager selection and performance quarterly. The system's geographic concentration in Dearborn — home to Ford Motor Company headquarters — has historically correlated its funded-status health with regional auto industry cycles, a risk the secondaries allocation partially hedges. The plan's structural differentiator is its coordinated governance with Chapter 23. While legally distinct, the two systems share consultants and at times evaluate the same fund commitments, creating a de facto co-investment club that commands larger commitment sizes than either plan could negotiate alone.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1929
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Dearborn
Corporate office
Dearborn, MI, United States
Principals
Randa Dagher
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees
Alan Brzys
Vice Chairperson of the Board of Trustees
Robert Guerin
Trustee, Member Elected
Wisam Fakhoury
Trustee, CSC Appointed
Michael (Jamie) Timiney
Trustee, Member Elected
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who sits on the Board of Trustees for Dearborn Chapter 22?
Randa Dagher serves as Chairperson, Alan Brzys as Vice Chairperson. The board includes member-elected trustees Robert Guerin and Michael Timiney, alongside CSC-appointed trustee Wisam Fakhoury. This mix reflects Michigan's statutory requirement for both elected and appointed fiduciary representation on municipal pension boards.
How does Chapter 22 relate to Dearborn's police and fire pension (Chapter 23)?
Chapter 22 covers non-public-safety city employees, while Chapter 23 serves police and fire personnel. Despite legal separation, the two plans share board members, consultants, and legal counsel in many instances, coordinating on investment evaluations and negotiating fund commitments jointly when scale benefits warrant it.
What is the system's posture on secondaries?
Secondaries represent a core allocation for Chapter 22, not a tactical overlay. The plan treats secondaries as a distinct asset-class exposure alongside direct real estate and credit, using the strategy to manage vintage-year diversification and liquidity pacing within an otherwise illiquid portfolio.
Does Chapter 22 invest directly in real estate or through funds?
The system holds direct commercial real estate positions — Ryman Hospitality Properties appears in known holdings — alongside commingled real-asset vehicles. This blend of direct ownership and pooled-vehicle exposure is characteristic of Michigan municipal plans that have built internal real asset expertise over multi-decade horizons.
What credit strategies does Chapter 22 use?
Known credit holdings include the Loomis Sayles Credit Asset Trust and Baird Core Plus Fund, suggesting the plan uses core-plus fixed-income allocations for liability-matching alongside opportunistic credit vehicles. This barbell approach fits a system where benefit obligations drive liquidity needs.
How does Dearborn's local economy influence the pension's funded status?
Dearborn is Ford Motor Company's global headquarters city, and the city's tax base historically tracks auto-industry cycles. Chapter 22's funded ratio tends to correlate with the region's economic health, which partially explains the board's push into secondaries — a tool for managing return timing independent of local conditions.
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