The Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP) committee for St. Mary's County voted Oct. 24 to approve a benefit study and to move about $1 million from the fund’s high‑yield allocation into a private‑credit vehicle managed by TPG.

The committee also approved a recommendation from its investment adviser to amend the plan’s strategic targets—eliminating the existing high‑yield allocation in favor of private credit and adjusting equity and inflation‑sensitive positions—and completed routine rebalancing and administrative approvals, including the plan administrator report and the 2026 LOSAP meeting calendar.

The benefit study approved at the meeting reflects language in the July resolution that the LOSAP benefit amount “should be evaluated during the LOSAP actuarial valuation occurring once every two years.” Committee members approved contracting an adviser to run a separate benefits analysis in coordination with the next actuarial valuation; staff estimated the study would cost approximately $4,000 to $6,000 and be paid from the LOSAP trust.

Patrick Wing of Marquette, the committee’s investment presenter, recommended adding private credit to the plan’s strategic targets and presented two manager options: Nuveen Churchill and TPG (TwinBrook/Angelo Gordon branding). Wing summarized differences between the managers and the asset class, saying private credit’s long‑term loss experience has been lower than high‑yield bonds and that private credit can provide inflation protection when structured as senior secured, floating‑rate loans. He described TPG as more focused on the lower middle market and having a predominantly first‑lien, senior secured portfolio, and Nuveen Churchill as broader across the middle market with some junior capital exposure and modestly lower management fees.

After discussing return, fee and liquidity tradeoffs, the committee voted to invest approximately $1,000,000 with TPG’s private‑credit vehicle. The motion to proceed with the TPG allocation passed by voice vote (ayes). Wing advised staff that subscription paperwork could be completed promptly and that, if the paperwork were submitted in early December, the fund could call and invest capital immediately.

The committee also reviewed proposed changes to the investment policy’s asset‑allocation targets tied to the intended swap (removing a roughly 4.4% target to high yield and reallocating to private credit and U.S. equity). Wing said the proposal, based on historical data presented in the packet, was expected to produce a modest long‑term increase in return (roughly 20–30 basis points over long periods) with similar or lower volatility after accounting for private‑credit characteristics.

Separately, the committee approved a set of smaller rebalancing moves: a $50,000 shift from the Fidelity Emerging Markets Fund to the Fidelity International Index Fund and a $50,000 redeployment from the money‑market sleeve into real‑assets and short‑term TIPS allocations (approximately $30,000 to an infrastructure ETF and $20,000 to short‑term TIPS). The committee voted to approve those rebalancing recommendations as presented.

Joy Sapp, the plan administrator and deputy director of finance, reported that the plan paid three administrative disbursements of $6,185.95 each to Principal, Boomershine and Marquette. Sapp stated, “Our annual contribution, is $1,900,000,” and noted the next scheduled county contribution (the second tranche) will be approximately $495,511 in November. The committee voted to accept the plan administrator report.

Procedural items handled by unanimous voice vote included approval of the Oct. 24 agenda, approval of corrected minutes for the Aug. 29 and June 27, 2025 meetings, approval of LOSAP committee meeting dates for 2026, and a motion to adjourn. No dissenting votes were recorded on the motions taken.

The committee discussed timing: the separate LOSAP benefit study will be coordinated so findings can be presented with the actuarial valuation in December, allowing any recommended benefit changes to be considered in the upcoming budget cycle. Wing and staff indicated they would contact the actuary and the selected manager to coordinate presentations in early December.

The committee meeting lasted under an hour and concluded after the approvals were completed; the committee’s next scheduled meeting is Dec. 5, 2025.