Specifications include, but are not limited to: a. Organization i. Provide the firm’s complete name, address, telephone and website. ii. Provide a brief history of your firm (including date founded) and any affiliated organizations. iii. Explain any material changes in ownership that have occurred in the past five years. iv. Provide an organization chart showing the overall structure of your company and the position of the asset management group within the company. b. Safety and Soundness i. Identify and describe any current litigation or investigation by a regulatory authority or contingent liabilities that your company, its officers, or principals have been involved in within the last three years relative to your investment management services. c. Personnel i. List the names, titles, phone numbers, and email addresses and provide brief biographies of all personnel that will have ongoing responsibility for day-to-day servicing of this account (e.g., support team, direct backups, research staff, trading desk, accounting, equity team, sector specialists). Include professional designations and trade association involvement. Describe the role of each person listed in the relationship with the company. d. Experience i. Describe the firm’s experience / expertise in developing investment policies for educational clients, specifically public higher education. ii. Describe the firm’s experience / expertise in managing assets. iii. Please describe how a University would fit in with the profile of your current client base. iv. Provide any special expertise or experience relevant to public higher education. e. Competitive Position & Future Commitment i. Discuss the factors that differentiate your organization from other providers. Why should you be selected? ii. Discuss any related services your organization provides and any affiliates and/or subsidiaries that would be involved in providing services under your proposal. iii. List all types of securities and investment services that are available through your organization. iv. Discuss how your organization monitors and responds to regulatory (e.g., GASB/FASB, SEC, Federal Reserve) changes that impact investment management. B. INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES a. Describe your firm’s asset allocation evaluation methodology. b. Describe how your firm manages duration and interest rate risk. c. Describe the process your firm utilizes to develop asset class expected return / risk assumptions. d. Describe the investment strategy/portfolio(s) that you recommend based on the information provided by the University. e. Describe your screening process for ensuring that investments meet the University’s investment policy and guidelines. i. What is the process for handling investments that initially comply with the University’s investment policy but during the investment period fall outside of the investment policy? ii. How is the University protected in the event the investment manager makes an investment that initially or at any time during the holding period falls outside the University’s investment policy? f. Describe how fixed income benchmarks are selected or developed. Describe the appropriate benchmark for the recommended portfolio and your reasons for selecting that benchmark. g. Describe how your firm managed its portfolios during the current (2022) market disruptions. h. Describe your firm’s research capabilities and resources. i. Is there any circumstance where your firm would recommend investment relationships that could produce a conflict of interest, including but not limited to utilizing proprietary funds, agreements with certain mutual fund families that provide additional income to you, or any other situation? C. REPORTING AND RECONCILIATION a. Summarize your firm’s performance evaluation and reporting services. Provide examples. b. Describe the frequency of the performance reports produced by your firm. c. How do you reconcile your portfolio activity with the custodian? How often? What items do you reconcile? d. Do you have any requirements regarding the selection of a custodian? If so, please explain. e. Do you offer any pricing advantages in using a custodian of your choice? f. What pricing source(s) does your organization use for market valuations? How frequently do you price accounts? g. What process do you use for determining an “other than temporarily impaired” security? How is an impairment communicated to the company? What type of impairment reports do you provide? h. What support do you provide governmental clients in fair value and other disclosures required for annual financial statements under GASB 72? i. Please describe the reporting tools available to the University, such as online portals.
