INVESTMENT POLICY UPDATE - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

The updated policy, adopted in November of 2022, allowed the MRCA to invest outside of the state or county pools for these situations while still complying with California law and the terms of any agreements specific to the funds. This option is also available to the District if funds are subject to similar terms. DISCUSSION The District's investment policy is conservative, providing for investment in short term debt instruments and government protected bank instruments. The policy does not allow for more speculative investments such as stocks, mutual funds, corporate bonds, or other corporate securities that trade in the national financial markets. This conservative approach results in lower earnings than more speculative investments but provides a higher degree of safety and liquidity. Of the three major components in a government investment policy, these two take precedent over the third, which is rate of return. The District invests with the Ventura County Investment Pool and the State of California Investment Pool (LAIF). The investment policies of both the State of California and Ventura County limit their pool investments to the same type of investment vehicles contained in the District policy. Note that over 98% of District cash assets are invested at all times. Essentially, there are no idle funds or funds not earning interest. Maximizing the amount of funds invested helps offset lower earnings that accrue from more conservative investments. After updating the investment policy in November of 2022, staff investigated alternative investment providers with investment policies similar to the County and LAIF options that would also have the sub -accounting abilities required by the MRCA. Three potential providers were identified that: • Limit their pool investments to the same type of investment vehicles contained in the District policy. • Currently provide services to special districts in California. • Provide sub -accounting statements as required by MRCA agreements. The three options identified were CaITRUST, California CLASS and California Asset Management Program (CAMP). All three responded to the District's Request for Proposal (RFP), which, in addition to verifying the above criteria, required information regarding portfolio options and performance, a sample of sub -accounting and cost/fee information. On November 17, 2023, the District's finance and audit committee met and discussed the three potential providers, eventually deciding to recommend CalTrust Shares Program to be used when