# Wellesley (Mass.) Contributory Retirement System

Wellesley (Mass.) Contributory Retirement System is a Pension Fund based in Wellesley, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Pension Fund
- **Headquarters:** Wellesley, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Wellesley, MA, United States
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** wellesleyma.gov

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Wellesley Contributory Retirement System is a Massachusetts public pension plan established to provide retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to eligible employees of the Town of Wellesley. The system is governed by a five-member board chaired by David Kornwitz, with Timothy Barros serving as vice chair. Rachel DeRoche, the town's finance director, sits as an ex-officio member, alongside appointed and elected representatives including Edward Heilbron and Michael Leach. Day-to-day administration is managed by Retirement Director Lynn Whynot. WCRS operates as a participant in the Massachusetts public pension ecosystem, gaining its core alternatives exposure through commingled state vehicles. The system's known allocations include PRIT Real Estate Portfolio for global mixed-use property exposure and PRIT Timberland and Natural Resources for hard-asset diversification. For cash management and short-duration fixed income, WCRS uses the Massachusetts Municipal Depository Trust, a local-government investment pool. The precise asset-class splits and total fund size are not publicly published by the system. The retirement board has not disclosed total assets under management or year-by-year deployment figures. Governance falls under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 32, which establishes fiduciary standards, board composition rules, and funding-schedule requirements for the commonwealth's contributory retirement systems. WCRS is a member of MACRS, the statewide professional association that advocates for Massachusetts public retirement systems on legislative and regulatory matters. As a local contributory system within a mature state framework, WCRS's structural differentiator is its mandatory reliance on PRIT pools for alternative assets. The system does not operate a standalone direct-investment program but gains scaled access to real estate, infrastructure, and natural resources through the commonwealth's centralized investment management structure administered by the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board.

## Sectors

- Real Estate
- Infrastructure
- Timberland & Natural Resources

## People

- David Kornwitz — Chairperson, Wellesley Retirement Board
- Timothy Barros — Vice Chairperson and Elected Member, Wellesley Retirement Board
- Rachel DeRoche — Ex-Officio Member and Finance Director for the Town of Wellesley
- Lynn Whynot — Retirement Director and Records Access Officer
- Edward Heilbron — Appointed Fifth Member, Wellesley Retirement Board
- Michael Leach — Elected Member, Wellesley Retirement Board

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at the Wellesley Contributory Retirement System?

The five-member Wellesley Retirement Board governs the system. Chairperson David Kornwitz and Vice Chair Timothy Barros lead the board, which includes Finance Director Rachel DeRoche as an ex-officio member. Investment decisions for alternative assets are implemented through participation in PRIT commingled pools managed by the Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, not through a dedicated internal investment staff at WCRS.

### How does WCRS gain exposure to private markets and alternatives?

WCRS accesses alternatives through the commonwealth's PRIT pools. Known exposures include PRIT Real Estate Portfolio, covering global mixed-use properties, and PRIT Timberland and Natural Resources. This structure eliminates the need for WCRS to build an internal alternatives-sourcing capability, substituting the scale and manager relationships of the state's platform.

### What is the governance structure of the Wellesley Retirement Board?

The board has five members under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 32: two elected by the membership, one appointed by the appointing authority, one ex-officio member (the town finance director), and a fifth member appointed by the other four. The current board includes two elected members, one appointed member, and the town's finance director serving ex-officio.

### Does WCRS make direct investments or only fund commitments?

WCRS does not appear to operate a direct-investment program for private assets. The system's disclosed holdings flow through state-level commingled vehicles — PRIT Real Estate, PRIT Timberland — and the Massachusetts Municipal Depository Trust for short-term cash. There is no public record of WCRS conducting proprietary direct deals or co-investments outside the PRIT framework.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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