Stoneham Retirement Board

The Board does not directly pick stocks or negotiate private fund commitments. It invests primarily through two external channels: the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board's PRIT Fund, a state-run multi-asset investment pool, and a managed account with Russell Investments. The five-member board, chaired by Janice Houghton, oversees asset-allocation policy and monitors performance of these mandates with support from Executive Director Christopher Delisi.

Through PRIT, the Stoneham system gains exposure to a broad institutional portfolio that includes domestic and international equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate, timberland, and hedge funds. The PRIT Core Fund, PRIT Real Estate Portfolio, and PRIT Hedge Fund Portfolio are specifically identified in public records as underlying allocations for the Stoneham plan.

The Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission, a Massachusetts state agency, regulates the Stoneham Retirement System. PERAC conducts audits, reviews investment performance, and ensures compliance with contributory retirement statutes. The plan also reports annually to the Town of Stoneham, which is the sponsoring employer.

The system covers approximately 750 active and retired municipal employees, including town workers from departments in Stoneham, Massachusetts. The plan provides defined-benefit retirement, disability, and survivor benefits under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, consistent with Massachusetts contributory retirement law.

It is both independent and pooled. The Stoneham Retirement Board is a legally separate entity with its own board and fiduciary responsibility for the town's pension obligations. However, it invests the majority of its assets through the PRIT Fund, a pooled vehicle that commingles Stoneham's capital with that of the Massachusetts State Employees' and Teachers' Retirement Systems and dozens of other local boards to achieve economies of scale.

Christopher Delisi serves as the Executive Director of the Stoneham Retirement System, a position responsible for the day-to-day administration of pension benefits, board meeting coordination, and liaison functions with PERAC and the PRIM Board. The Executive Director typically handles benefit calculations, disability retirements, and service-purchase requests for the plan's 750 members.

The Board does not pursue direct private equity co-investments independently. Its exposure to private markets comes entirely through the PRIT Fund, which allocates a portion of its multi-billion-dollar portfolio to private equity, real estate, and timberland. The PRIM Board's professional investment staff selects and monitors private-market managers on Stoneham's behalf.