Investment Advisory and Municipal Financial Products Advisory Services

The vendor required to provide investment advisory and municipal financial products advisory services in two distinct but complementary service areas:
•    Investment advisory services under the act
•    Municipal financial products (MFP) advisory services
1.Investment advisory services
•    Investment advisor to provide sub-advised discretionary investment advisory services for the city's investment portfolio in full compliance with the act.
•    Advisor will serve as a fiduciary to the city and will provide comprehensive oversight, independent analysis, and quarterly reporting on all investment activities.
- Core investment advisory services
A. Investment strategy and policy development
•    Review and recommend updates to the city's investment policy to ensure compliance with act and best practices 
•    Develop and maintain written investment strategies aligned with the city's cash flow needs, risk tolerance, and act requirements 
•    Assist in establishing appropriate investment objectives, performance benchmarks, and risk parameters for different fund types 
•    Provide guidance on permitted investments under act and the city's investment policy
B. Investment oversight and due diligence 
•    Provide comprehensive oversight of all investment purchases and transactions 
•    Conduct independent due diligence on proposed investments, including credit analysis and suitability assessment 
•    Review and approve all investment transactions prior to execution to ensure compliance with act, the city's investment policy, and prudent investment practices 
•    Monitor ongoing creditworthiness and risk characteristics of existing portfolio holdings 
•    Evaluate and recommend qualified broker-dealers and financial institutions for the city's authorized list 
•    Demonstrate a robust methodology for sourcing and selecting securities for the portfolio
•    Leverage multiple trading desks, counterparties and sources of liquidity to ensure best execution on the purchase and potential sale of securities
C. Safekeeping and custody oversight
•    Oversee safekeeping arrangements for all city investments
•    Review and recommend custodial service providers
•    Assess custodial fee structures and secure competitive pricing
•    Verify proper delivery, settlement, and custody of securities
•    Reconcile custodial statements with city records
•    Ensure all securities are held in the city's name or in a manner that protects the city's ownership interest
•    Monitor compliance with collateralization requirements for deposits and repurchase agreements
•    Maintain a robust cyber-security program and demonstrate business continuity capabilities
D. Portfolio management guidance
•    Provide ongoing recommendations for portfolio composition, duration, and diversification
•    Assist city staff in developing trade execution strategies
•    Monitor market conditions and provide timely market intelligence
•    Recommend portfolio adjustments in response to changing market conditions, cash flow needs, or regulatory requirements
•    Advise on the timing and structure of specific investment transactions
E. Performance monitoring and reporting
•    Prepare comprehensive quarterly investment reports for submission to the city council, including:
o    Summary of investment holdings by type, maturity, and book value
o    Summary of investment activity during the quarter (purchases, calls, maturities)
o    Portfolio performance compared to established benchmarks
o    Compliance certification with act and the city's investment policy
o    Market value analysis and unrealized gains and losses
o    Portfolio characteristics (weighted average maturity, yield, duration)
o    Cash flow analysis and liquidity assessment
•    Provide written certification that the investments comply with act and the city's investment policy
•    Present quarterly investment reports to the city council or designated committee as required
•    Provide ad hoc reports and analysis as requested by city staff or leadership
2. Municipal financial products (MFP) advisory services
•    Independent advisory firm to provide municipal financial products (MFP) advisory services. 
•    These services are distinct from traditional municipal securities (bond) advisory services and traditional investment advisory services, and encompass specialized investment structuring, hedging, and optimization strategies related to debt-related funds, construction funds, and operational risk management.
- Core MFP advisory services
A. Swap and derivative advisory
•    Provide independent advisory services for interest rate swaps and derivative transactions, including structuring recommendations, competitive pricing and execution support, counterparty credit analysis, documentation review, post-trade compliance monitoring, and fair value calculations 
•    Provide advisory services for commodity hedging transactions, including natural gas hedging programs, electricity hedging programs, and other commodity risk management as applicable 
•    Integrate hedging strategies with debt service schedules and budgetary requirements 
•    Leverage multiple trading desks and counterparties to ensure best execution on swap and derivative transactions 
•    Seek best execution and competitive commission structures with counterparties 
•    Maintain robust compliance programs for complex financial products
B. Energy risk management advisory
•    Provide independent analysis and structuring of financial hedges for energy commodities, including evaluation of hedge instruments and strategies, competitive pricing and market analysis, execution support and transaction management, and post-trade monitoring and reporting 
•    Evaluate existing or proposed fixed-price supply contracts for energy commodities, including pricing competitiveness assessment, embedded risk analysis, alignment with operational and budgetary needs, and contract structure review 
•    Develop and conduct competitive procurement processes for fixed-price energy supply contracts, energy hedging instruments, and related energy products and services 
•    Monitor counterparty risk and seek to diversify exposure when possible
C. Online modeling and reporting system
•    Create and monitor debt structures, investment portfolios, and hedging positions
•    Model fixed income portfolios and generate cash flow projections at individual fund and aggregate levels 
•    Evaluate cash flow sufficiency against obligations
•    Conduct scenario testing for interest rate changes, drawdown schedule adjustments, and debt service variations 
•    Access dashboards and custom reports showing portfolio performance metrics, risk exposure analysis, upcoming funding requirements, and projected future interest income and expense 
•    Manage user access with tiered permissions and appropriate security controls 
•    Export data and reports for council presentations, audit purposes, and public disclosure 
•    Integrate with existing city financial systems where feasible.