Investment Management

The County Treasury actively manages a fixed income investment portfolio that averages approximately $3.5 Billion. Investments are limited to those instruments legally permitted under Section 53635 of the California Government Code, and must meet the criteria of the Monterey County Treasury's Investment Policy. The investment policy is reviewed and approved annually by the County Board of Supervisors. The Treasury's compliance with the investment policy is also audited annually by an independent certified public accountant.

The Treasury maintains a portfolio that has, at a minimum, 30% liquidity. This liquidity is composed of overnight investments and short-term money market instruments that can be readily converted to cash. This degree of liquidity assures that funds are always available to meet normal and unexpected cash demands without the need to sell other investments that could result in a loss due to market conditions. Other investments may include U. S. Treasury and federal agency securities, commercial paper, bankers acceptances and highly-rated corporate notes. The investment portfolio maintains a weighted average maturity of less than one year.

Income from investments is allocated on a quarterly basis, net of associated costs, to all the investment pool participants based on their average daily invested cash. The investment pool participants include only those statutorily defined by law; there are no voluntary outside pool depositors in the Monterey County investment pool.