City of Fort Lauderdale Police & Fire Retirement System

City of Fort Lauderdale Police & Fire Retirement System

The City of Fort Lauderdale Police & Fire Retirement System was established in 1973 as the dedicated defined-benefit pension vehicle for sworn police officers and firefighters employed by the City of Fort Lauderdale. It operates as a single-employer plan, meaning its funding and liabilities are tied directly to one municipal sponsor rather than pooled across a state. The Board of Trustees, chaired by Scott Moseley, governs the system with fiduciary responsibility for active members, retirees, and beneficiaries. The system deploys its approximately $1.2 billion portfolio across a diversified institutional mix emphasizing private markets. Its private equity sleeve spans buyout, growth equity, venture capital, and mezzanine strategies, accessed primarily via fund commitments rather than direct co-investments. Real estate exposure includes direct interests in commercial assets through the ARA Core Realty Fund and residential development tied to the Affiliated Housing Impact Fund II in Florida. A dedicated hedge fund-of-funds portfolio provides additional diversification, alongside a land-based income investment with Agamerica Income. The plan's geographic footprint concentrates on United States-based assets, with Florida real estate forming a distinct local allocation. As of September 2024, plan assets stood at $1.2 billion (per the firm's official communications), positioning it as a mid-sized municipal pension fund by Florida standards. The system maintains active membership in the National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems (NCPERS), the National Association of State Retirement Administrators (NASRA), and the National Council on Teacher Retirement (NCTR), signaling engagement with peer benchmarking and governance best practices. Separately, the system has acted as a frequent co-lead plaintiff in securities litigation alongside the Nova Scotia Health Employees' Pension Plan, a role that generates recoveries to offset plan costs. The plan's structural differentiator is its single-employer, public-safety-specific design. Unlike state-level plans that pool risk across municipalities, Fort Lauderdale Police & Fire carries its own actuarial assumptions and funding obligations. This concentrates the plan's exposure to the city's fiscal health and the negotiated benefit formulas unique to police and fire bargaining units, making its asset allocation — particularly the private-market tilt — a deliberate lever to meet return targets that keep required city contributions manageable.