Company: MSEX
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001174947-25-000251
Chunk: 1138

Company: MIDDLESEX WATER CO
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 7
Chunk 1138
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    Target  
    2024  
    2023  
    Target 
  
    Equity Securities 
     31.8%  
     58.1%  
     30%  
     65.2%  
     60.9%  
     43% 
  
    Debt Securities 
     67.9%  
     39.6%  
     68%  
     33.0%  
     36.1%  
     50% 
  
    Cash 
     0.3%  
     0.7%  
     2%  
     1.8%  
     3.0%  
     2% 
  
    Real Estate/Commodities 
     0.0%  
     1.6%  
     0%  
     0.0%  
     0.0%  
     5% 
  
    Total 
     100.0%  
     100.0%  
        
     100.0%  
     100.0%  

Two outside investment firms each manage a portion
of the Pension Plan asset portfolio. One of those investment firms also manages the Other Benefits Plan asset portfolio. Quarterly meetings
are held between the Company’s Pension Committee of the Board of Directors and the investment managers to review their performance
and asset allocation. If the actual asset allocation is outside the targeted range, the Pension Committee reviews current market conditions
and advice provided by the investment managers to determine the appropriateness of rebalancing the portfolio.

The objective of the Company is to maximize the
long-term return on retirement plan assets, relative to a reasonable level of risk, maintain a diversified investment portfolio and maintain
compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The expected long-term rate of return is based on the various asset
categories in which plan assets are invested and the current expectations and historical performance for these categories.

Fair Value Measurements

Accounting guidance provides a fair value hierarchy
that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted
quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs
(Level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described as follows