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County of Ventura <br />Board of Supervisors <br />December 08, 2020 <br />Page 2 of 3 <br />Going forward, if the current portfolio investments were all held to maturity, the portfolio's <br />approximate yield to maturity would be 0.72%, a significant decline from September of 14 <br />basis points. Since only two of the October investments shown on Exhibit 2 produced a yield <br />that high, the portfolio's percentage yield will continue to decline. If the interest rate market truly <br />stazes at its current levels, our portfolio's approximate yield to maturity and annualized <br />percentage yield may be as low as 0.50% by December. <br />The total net earnings for October were $1.861 Million, a decrease from September that <br />reflects the declining percentage yield. Exhibit 7 shows the repetitive seasonal pattern that has <br />existed for several years, although this decline is steeper and deeper. <br />The weighted average days to maturity declined slightly to 295 days, The interest-rate <br />sensitivity measure of effective duration declined slightly to 0.48. Both numbers are <br />comfortably within expectations for LGIP programs like ours. <br />The three largest sectors, by percentage, were: Commercial Paper (24.49%); Yankee <br />Certificates of Deposit (24.42%); and Government Agencies (18.55%). The three largest <br />issuers by percentage, were: Toyota Motor Credit Corp (9.57%), Korea Development Bank <br />(8.22%); and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (7.27%). The three highest -yielding <br />sectors, by annualized percentage yield, were: Corporate Medium Term Notes (1.3501); <br />Supranationals (1. 180%); and Municipal Bonds (1. 100%). <br />The portfolio has been managed with the stated objectives of safety, liquidity, and earning a <br />competitive return, as outlined in the Statement of Investment Policy. In striving to maintain the <br />primary objective, safety of principal, the County of Ventura has continuously maintained a <br />rating of AAAf/S1+ by Standard & Poor's, the highest rating given by that agency, and re- <br />affirmed in December 2019. The rating reflects S&Ps oon that the portfolio is well-managed, <br />credorthy, well-diversed, and has a low sensitivity to interest rate variations. Regarding <br />the secondary objective of maintaining sufficient liquidity to meet cash flow needs, the <br />portfolio maintains significant cash reserves in the County's bank, as well as significant holdings <br />in LAIF and CalTrust. The portfolio has the ability to meet its participants' expenditure <br />requirements for the next six months, pursuant to a daily study of projected cash flows. All of <br />the portfolio's assets have a well-developed resale market, although of course it is our policy <br />not to sell. Earning a competitive rate of return is reflected by our performance against our <br />benchmarks, even though they each have less restrictive investment poes than ours, and <br />either have no S&P rating like LAIF or a lower S&P rating like CalTrust. <br />The portfolio has been managed for several months on the assumption that monthly yields will <br />decline. The Investment Work Group has already switched its focus to the challenges of <br />investing in a declining market without approaching the boundaries imposed by our Statement <br />of Investment Policy and by the Standard and Poor's ratings team. We are maintaining a larger <br />cash balance as a liquidity hedge against possible withdrawals by pool participants if State <br />payments are delayed. <br />800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura, California 93009-1290 <br />www.venturapropertytax,org (605) 654-3734 <br />