The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutC11-261 Investment PolicyEagle County, Colorado Investment Policy INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE Eagle County (the County), centrally located in the Rocky Mountains along Interstate 70, is home to the internationally renowned ski resorts Vail and Beaver Creek. Eagle County operates as a statutory county, . with a three-member Board of County Commissioners. By approval of the Board of County Commissioners, Eagle County's Investment Policy was adopted on October 13, 1992, by Resolution 92-128. This version of the Investment Policy was approved by the Board of County Commissioners on 2011 by Consent Agenda. The following Investment Policy addresses the methods, procedures, and practices which must be exercised to ensure effective and judicious fiscal and investment management of the County's funds. This Investment Policy shall apply to the investment management of those County funds listed in Annex I of this Investment Policy. All cash, except for certain restricted funds also listed in Annex I of this Investment Policy, shall be pooled for investment purposes. The investment income derived from the pooled investment account shall be allocated to the pooled funds listed in Annex I based upon the proportion of their respective average balances relative to the total pooled balance. INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES The County's funds shall be invested in accordance with all applicable County policies and codes, Colorado statutes, and Federal regulations, and in a manner designed to accomplish the following objectives, which are listed in priority order: • Preservation of capital and protection of investment principal. • Maintenance of sufficient liquidity to meet anticipated cash flows. • Diversification to avoid incurring unreasonable market risks. • Attainment of a market value rate of return. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY In accordance with CRS 30-10-708, the Board of County Commissioners has granted the County Treasurer (the "Treasurer") authority for conducting investment transactions. The Deputy Treasurer and other authorized persons may be appointed to assist the Treasurer in performing investment management functions. Persons authorized to transact investment business for Eagle County are listed in Annex II of this Investment Policy. Page 1 C C, The Treasurer shall establish written administrative procedures for the operation of the County's investment program consistent with this Investment Policy. The Treasurer may engage the support services of outside professionals in regard to its investment program, so long as it can be clearly demonstrated that these services produce a net financial advantage or necessary financial protection of the County's financial resources. Such services may include engagement of financial advisors in conjunction with debt issuance, portfolio management support, special legal representation, third party custodial services, and independent rating services. PRUDENCE The standard of prudence to be used for managing the County's assets is the "prudent investor" rule applicable to a fiduciary, which states that a prudent investor "shall exercise the judgment and care, under circumstances then prevailing, which men of prudence, discretion, and intelligence exercise in the management of the property of another, not in regard to speculation but in regard to the permanent disposition of funds, considering the probable income as well as the probable safety of capital." (CRS 15-1- 304, Standard for Investments.) The County's overall investment program shall be designed and managed with a degree of professionalism that is worthy of the public trust. The County recognizes that no investment is totally riskless and that the investment activities of the County are a matter of public record. Accordingly, the County recognizes that occasional measured losses may occur in a diversified portfolio and shall be considered within the context of the overall portfolio's return, provided that adequate diversification has been implemented and that the sale of a security is in the best long-term interest of the County. The Treasurer and other authorized persons acting in accordance with written procedures and exercising due diligence shall be relieved of personal responsibility for an individual security's credit risk or market price changes, provided that the deviations from expectations are reported in a timely fashion to the Board of County Commissioners and appropriate action is taken to control adverse developments. ETHICS AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST Elected officials and employees involved in the investment process shall refrain from personal business activity that could conflict with proper execution of the investment program or that could impair or create the appearance of an impairment of their ability to make impartial investment decisions. Employees and investment officials shall disclose to the Treasurer any material financial interest they have in financial institutions that conduct business with the County, and they shall subordinate their personal investment transactions to those of the County. The County adheres to the Government Finance Officers Association's Code of Professional Ethics, a copy of which is available online at http://www.gfoa.org. Page 2 AUTHORIZED SECURITIES AND TRANSACTIONS All investments shall be made in accordance with the Colorado Revised Statutes: CRS 11-10.5-101, et seq. Public Deposit Protection Act; CRS 24-75-601, et. seq. Funds - Legal Investments; CRS 24-75-603, Depositories; and CRS 24-75-702, Local Governments — authority to pool surplus funds. Any revisions or extensions of these sections of the CRS will be assumed to be part of this Investment Policy immediately upon being enacted. The Treasurer has further restricted the investment of County funds to the following types of securities and transactions: 1. U.S. Treasury Obligations: Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes, Treasury Bonds, and Treasury Strips with maturities not exceeding five years from the date of trade settlement. 2. Federal Instrumentality Securities: Debentures, discount notes, callable securities, step-up securities, and stripped principal or coupons with maturities not exceeding five years from the date of trade settlement. Federal Instrumentality Securities shall be rated in the highest rating category by at least two Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs), and shall be rated not less by any NRSRO that rates the debt. 3. General Obligation Debt with a final maturity not exceeding three years issued by any state of the United States or any political subdivision, institution, department, agency, instrumentality, or authority of any state that is (1) rated at least AA or the equivalent at the time of purchase by at least two NRSROs that rate the entity; or (2) escrowed to maturity with U.S. Treasury obligations as collateral. No more than 5% of the County's total portfolio may be invested General Obligation Debt of any one issuer. No more than 25% of the County's total portfolio may be invested in any combination of General Obligation and Revenue Obligation Debt. 4. Revenue Obligation Debt with a final maturity not exceeding three years issued by any state of the United States or any political subdivision, institution, department, agency, instrumentality, or authority of any state that is (1) rated at least AAA or the equivalent at the time of purchase by at least two NRSROs that rates the entity; or (2) escrowed to maturity with U.S. Treasury obligations as collateral. No more than 5% of the County's total portfolio may be invested Revenue Obligation Debt of any one issuer. No more than 25% of the County's total portfolio may be invested in any combination of General Obligation and Revenue Obligation Debt. 5. Non-negotiable Certificates of Deposit in any FDIC insured state or national bank located in Colorado that is an eligible public depository as defined in CRS 11-10.5- 103. Certificates of deposit that exceed FDIC insurance limits shall be collateralized as required by the Public Deposit Protection Act. The County shall limit the aggregate value of Certificates of Deposit to no more than 25% of the County's total portfolio, and the amount of Certificates of Deposit that can be purchased from any one financial institution shall be limited to 5% of the County's total portfolio. Page 3 6. Commercial Paper with an original maturity of 270 days or less that is rated at least A-1, P-1 or the equivalent at the time of purchase by at least two NRSROs and rated not less by all NRSROs that rate the commercial paper. If the commercial paper issuer has senior debt outstanding, the senior debt must be rated at least AA-, Aa3 or the equivalent at the time of purchase by at least two NRSROs and rated not less by all NRSROs that rate the issuer. The aggregate investment in commercial paper and banker's acceptances shall not exceed 50% of the County's total portfolio, and no more than 5 of the County's total portfolio may be invested in the obligations of any one issuer. 7. Eligible Banker's Acceptances with maturities not exceeding 180 days, issued by banks domiciled in the U.S. and operating under U.S. banking laws. Banker's Acceptances shall be rated A-1, P-1 or the equivalent at the time of purchase by at least two NRSROs and rated not less by all NRSROs that rate the instrument. If the issuing bank has senior long-term debt outstanding, it shall be rated, at the time of purchase, AA-, Aa3 or the equivalent by at least two NRSROs and rated not less by all NRSROs that rate the issuer. The aggregate investment in banker's acceptances and commercial paper shall not exceed 50% of the County's total portfolio, and no more than 5% of the County's total portfolio may be invested in the obligations of any one issuer. 8. Repurchase Agreements with a defined termination date of 180 days or less collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity not exceeding 10 years. For the purpose of this section, the term collateral shall mean purchased securities under the terms of the County's approved Master Repurchase Agreement. The purchased securities shall have a minimum market value including accrued interest of 102 percent of the dollar value of the transaction. Collateral shall be held in the County's custodial bank as safekeeping agent, and the market value of the collateral securities shall be marked -to -the -market daily. Repurchase Agreements shall be entered into only with dealers who have executed a Master Repurchase Agreement with the County and who are recognized as Primary Dealers by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or with firms that have a Primary Dealer within their holding company structure. Approved repurchase agreement counterparties if rated, shall have a short-term debt rating of at least A-1 or the equivalent and a long-term debt rating of A or the equivalent from one or more NRSROs that regularly rate such obligations. Broker/dealers who have executed Master Repurchase Agreements with the County are listed in Annex III of this Investment Policy. 9. Local Government Investment Pools authorized under CRS 24-75-702 that: are "no- load" (i.e., no commission or fee shall be charged on purchases or sales of shares); have a constant net asset value of $1.00 per share; limit assets of the fund to securities authorized by state statute; have a maximum stated maturity and weighted average maturity in accordance with Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and have a rating of AAAm or the equivalent by each NRSRO that rates the pool. Page 4 10. Money Market Mutual Funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that are "no-load" (i.e. no commission or fee shall be charged on purchases or sales of shares); have a constant net asset value of $1.00 per share); limit assets of the fund to securities authorized by state statute; have a maximum stated maturity and weighted average maturity in accordance with Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and have a rating of AAAm or the equivalent by each NRSRO that rates the fund. The foregoing list of authorized securities shall be strictly interpreted. Any deviation from this list must be pre -approved by the Treasurer in writing. INVESTMENT DIVERSIFICATION The County shall diversify its investments to avoid incurring unreasonable risks inherent in over -investing in specific instruments, individual financial institutions, or maturities. Nevertheless, the asset allocation in the portfolio should be flexible depending upon the outlook for the economy, the securities market, and the County's anticipated cash flow needs. The County shall limit investments to a maximum percentage of the portfolio as follows: Non-negotiable Certificates of Deposit: 25%. Combined General Obligation and Revenue Obligation Debt: 25%, 5% per issuer. Combined Commercial Paper and Banker's Acceptances: 50%, 5% per issuer. INVESTMENT MATURITY AND LIQUIDITY Investments shall be limited to maturities not exceeding five years from the date of trade settlement unless otherwise approved in writing by the Treasurer. The maximum weighted average maturity for the portfolio shall be 2.5 years. The County's investable funds will be invested to meet cash flow projections. Core funds (those funds that the County will not need for expected, short-term liabilities) will be identified through cash flow projections so that they can be invested longer-term when market conditions are favorable for such strategies. In the case of callable securities, the first call date shall be used as the maturity date if, in the opinion of the Treasurer, there is little doubt that the security will be called on that call date. The final maturity date shall be used to disclose the maximum maturity liability in the County's financial reports. COMPETITIVE TRANSACTIONS With the exception of deposits, all investment transactions shall be conducted competitively with authorized broker/dealers. At least three broker/dealers shall be contacted for each transaction and their bid and offering prices shall be recorded. If the County is offered a security for which there is no other readily available competitive offering, then the Treasurer will document quotations for comparable or alternative securities. Page 5 SELECTION OF BROKER/DEALERS The Treasurer shall maintain a list of broker/dealers approved for investment purposes, and it shall be the policy of the County to purchase securities only from those authorized firms. To be eligible, a firm must meet at least one of the following criteria: 1. be recognized as a Primary Dealer by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York or have a primary dealer within its holding company structure, 2. report voluntarily to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or 3. Qualify under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rule 15c3-1 (Uniform Net Capital Rule). The Treasurer will select broker/dealers on the basis of their expertise in public cash management and their ability to provide service to the County's account. Each authorized firm shall be required to ' submit and annually update a County approved broker/dealer Information Request Form that includes the firm's most recent financial statements. A list of authorized broker/dealers is included in Annex IV of this Investment Policy. The County may purchase commercial paper from direct issuers even though they are not on the approved broker/dealer list as long as the commercial paper meets the criteria outlined in the Section, "Authorized Securities and Transactions" of this Investment Policy. SELECTION OF BANKS Banks shall be approved by written resolution by the Board of County Commissioners to provide depository and other banking services for the County. To be eligible for authorization, a bank must be a member of the FDIC and shall qualify as an eligible public depository as defined in CRS 11-10.5-103. A list of approved banks is included in Annex V of this .Investment Policy. SAFEKEEPING AND CUSTODY The Treasurer shall approve one or more banks to provide safekeeping and custodial services for the County. Custodian banks shall be selected on the basis of their ability to provide service to the County's account and the competitive pricing of their services. A County approved, custody agreement shall be executed with each custodian bank prior to utilizing that bank's safekeeping and custody services. To be eligible for designation as the County's safekeeping and custodian bank, a financial institution shall qualify as an eligible public depository as defined in CRS 11-10.5-103. The purchase and sale of securities and repurchase agreement transactions shall be settled on a delivery versus payment basis. Ownership of all securities shall be perfected in the name of the County. Sufficient evidence to title shall be consistent with modern investment, banking and commercial practices. Page 6 All investment securities purchased by the County will be delivered by either book entry or physical delivery and will be held in third -party safekeeping by the County approved custodian bank, its correspondent bank or the Depository Trust Company (DTC). The County's custodian will be required to furnish the County monthly reports of holdings of custodied securities as well as a report of monthly safekeeping activity. PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS The investment and cash management portfolio shall be designed to attain a market rate of return throughout budgetary and economic cycles, taking into account prevailing market conditions, risk constraints for eligible securities, and cash flow requirements. Eagle County shall use a dynamic benchmark rate of return for the County's investment portfolio which corresponds to the yield for the current US Treasury security that matches the weighted average maturity of the portfolio. All fees involved with managing the portfolio should be included in the computation of the portfolio's rate of return. REPORTING Monthly, the Treasurer shall prepare a report listing the investments held by the County, the current market valuation of the investments and performance results. The report shall include a summary of investment earnings during the period. Portfolio reports prepared for the County shall be compliant with all Governmental Accounting Standards Board requirements. POLICY REVISIONS This Investment Policy shall be reviewed annually and may be amended as conditions warrant. Policy annexes may be updated by the Treasurer as necessary, provided the changes in no way affect the substance or intent of this Investment Policy. Page 7 Eagle County, Colorado Investment Policy prepared by: Ij Karen L. Sheaffer, Treasurer Eagle County, Colorado Approved as to legal form: Approved: Bryan R, Treu, County Attorney Eagle County, Colorado irper n le Co my Board of County Commissioners Date: Page 8 Annex I Contributing Special Funds The contributing special funds to the pooled investment portfolio that will be allocated proportionate investment income are: Offsite Road Improvement School Dedication Emergency 911 E.V. Transportation E.V. Trails R.F. Transportation R.F. Trails Emergency Reserve Fund Transportation Vehicle Replacement Fund Open Space Fund Public Health Fund The following funds are restricted funds and are not included in the pooled investment portfolio: Alpine Bank Health Insurance Eagle County Reimbursement Public Trustee Salary Accounts Page 9 C% Annex II Authorized Personnel The following persons are authorized to transact investment business and wire funds for investment purposes on behalf of Eagle County, Colorado: Karen Sheaffer, Treasurer Mari Renzelman, Chief Deputy Treasurer Page 10 C Annex III Master Repurchase Agreement The following broker/dealers have an executed Master Repurchase Agreement on file with Eagle County, Colorado: Banc of America Securities, LLC Mizuho Securities USA Inc. Morgan Stanley DW, Inc. Page 11 Annex IV Approved Broker/Dealers The following broker/dealers have been approved by Eagle County, Colorado. • Barclays Capital • Deutsche Bank Securities • Goldman, Sachs & Co. • J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. • Jefferies & Company • Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith • Mizuho Securities USA • Morgan Keegan & Company Page 12 • Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Citigroup Global Markets platform) • Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Morgan Stanley platform) • RBC Capital Markets • UBS Financial Services • Wunderlich Securities Annex V Approved Banks and Savings and Loans The following depositories have been approved by Eagle County, Colorado. Alpine Bank American National Bank CoBiz Bank, NA Colorado Capital Bank Community Banks of Colorado FirstBank of Avon Millenium Bank U.S. Bank NA Wells Fargo Bank, NA Page 13