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County of Ventura <br />Board of Supervisors <br />April 13, 2021 <br />Page 2 of 3 <br />Since only a few of the February investments shown in Exhibit 2 produced a yield that high, the <br />portfolio's percentage yield may continue to decline. If the interest rate market truly stabilizes at its <br />current levels, our portfolio's approximate yield to maturity and annualized percentage yield may <br />be as low as 0.40% by April. <br />The total net earnings for February were $1,239 Million, a decrease from January that reflects the <br />declining percentage yield and the short month. Exhibit 7 shows the repetitive seasonal pattern that <br />has existed for several years, although this decline is steeper, deeper and longer lasting because <br />market rates fell faster and stayed low. <br />The Freighted average days to maturity fell slightly to 274 days. The interest -rate sensitivity <br />measure of effective duration rose slightly to 0.478. Both numbers are comfortably within <br />expectations for LGIP programs like ours. <br />The three largest sectors, by percentage, were: Yankee Certificates of Deposit (29.68%); <br />Commercial Paper (28.58%); and Government Agencies (14.86%). The three largest issuers by <br />percentage, were: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp (10.03%); Oversea -✓Chinese Bk Co NY <br />(9.58%); and Korea Development Bank (8.40%). The three highest -yielding sectors, by <br />annualized percentage yield, were: Corporate Medium Term Notes (1.000%); Municipal Bonds <br />(0.890%); and Supranationals (0.650%). <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 -affirmed <br />in December 2020. The rating reflects S&P's opinion that the portfolio is well-managed, credit- <br />worthy, well -diversified, and has a low sensitivity to interest rate variations. Regarding the <br />secondary objective of maintaining sufficient liquidity to meet cash flow needs, the portfolio <br />maintains significant cash reserves in the County's bank, as well as significant holdings in LAIF <br />and CalTrust. The portfolio has the ability to meet its participants' expenditure requirements for the <br />next six months, pursuant to a daily study of projected cash flows. All of the portfolio's assets have <br />a well-developed resale market, although of course it is our policy not to sell. Earning a <br />competitive rate of return is reflected by our performance against our benchmarks, even though <br />they each have less restrictive investment policies than ours, and they either have no S&P rating <br />such as LAI F, or a lower S&P rating such as 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 investing <br />in a steady market without approaching the boundaries imposed by our Statement of Investment <br />Policy and by the Standard and Poor's ratings team. We are maintaining a larger cash balance as <br />a liquidity hedge against possible withdrawals by pool participants if State payments are delayed. <br />800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura, California 93009-1290 <br />www venturapropertytax org (805) 654-3734 <br />