VILLAGE OF GRAYSLAKE
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
INVESTMENT SERVICES 

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

The Village of Grayslake, Illinois seeks professional investment services to implement and maintain a “Ladder Portfolio Strategy” in such a way as to maximize its earnings safely while meeting its daily cash flow needs.  The Village invites qualified financial institutions and investment managers who possess the experience, capability and expertise in the provision of investment and reporting services, to submit proposals for the provision of those services as set forth in this document.  The purpose of this process is to select the financial institution/investment manager that can offer the highest quality service to the Village at a competitive price.

II. SCOPE OF SERVICES

A.         INVESTMENT & CUSTODIAL SERVICES

The financial institution/investment manager shall adhere to the Village’s Investment Policy at all times.  Services shall include investment adviser, bid preparation to seek prospective investment bidders, receive bids, prepare list of bids and award bids all subject to approval of the Village’s Finance Director.  All correspondence shall be directed to the Finance Director.

This is not an exclusive investment arrangement.  The Village reserves the right to invest funds without seeking the assistance of the selected financial institution/ investment manager.  These investments shall not be a part of this agreement.

B.         REPORTING SERVICES

Monthly reports shall be provided including:  Investment description, purchase price, face value, investment rates (net of fees), purchase date, maturity date, custodian, collateralization, rate summary of entire portfolio for the month ending, quarter ending, annually and since inception.  Quarterly and annual rates reported shall include a benchmark, “The Illinois Funds”, for comparison purposes.  

All month end reports shall be delivered to the Finance Director by the 10^th of the following month.

III. TERM OF CONTRACT

Proposals for a one year agreement are being sought.  Upon selection of the financial institution/investment manager, the Village and proposer will enter into an agreement for a period of one year beginning approximately May 1, 2002 and ending on April 30, 2003, with an option for an additional one year period.  All costs will remain fixed for the term of the initial contract period.  The contract shall include a 30 day termination clause.

IV. AWARD OF CONTRACT

Acceptance of a proposal will be based on the total package of services offered by the financial institution/investment manager.  The Village reserves the right to request additional technical and pricing information during the evaluation period.  

The Village of Grayslake reserves the right to reject any or all bids, waive all technicalities, errors, omissions, erasures, alterations, and additions not called for, and to make an award which, in its judgment, is the best and most favorable to the interests of the Village and the public.

V. BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE

         Proposers are expected, at a minimum, to provide the following information:

A.           FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

1.       Name of firm:

2.       Address:

3.       Name, title, and telephone number of individual with authority to commit firm:

4.       Name, title, email, and telephone number of proposed account manager if different from above:

5.    What differentiates your service from other providers?

B.           ORGANIZATION’S BACKGROUND

1.      Please give a brief overview of your firm:

Location of your firm’s offices

Year founded

Ownership structure

 Significant organizational developments in past five years
        (e.g. changes in ownership, reorganization)

Anticipated changes in firm structure

    2.    Is your firm a registered investment advisor under the Investment Advisors Act of
           1940?

If so, please provide a copy of your ADV. (Part 1 & 2)

      3.      Please describe the levels of coverage for errors and omissions insurance and any
             other fiduciary or professional liability insurance your firm carries.

List the insurance carriers supplying the coverage.

4.   Describe any pending or past litigation taken against the firm in the past five                 years.

5.   What were the total public assets under the firm’s management as of December 31, 2001? 

6.   What were the total public assets under the proposed account manager’s management as of December 31, 2001?  Additionally, please summarize the investment instruments by percentage. Example: 15% GNMA, 20% Treasury Notes,…

C.           PERSONNEL

1.   Please provide a breakdown of your firm-wide staff into the following categories.

   ___  Portfolio Managers            ___  Administration
___  Economists                        ___  Marketing/Client Service
___  Research                            ___  Legal
___  Trading                              ___  Systems
___  Other Professionals            ___  Other Staff
___  Total Professional Staff       ___  Total Non-Investment Staff                            

    5.   If requested periodically, who will represent your firm at Village Meetings?
 

VI. COSTS

A.     What if any, are the start up charges?  

B.      Please indicate your applicable monthly fee schedule, in basis points of the
             portfolio you service or in dollars.

If applicable, please indicate your additional transaction fees:

                                                         Purchasing (in basis points)  Selling (in dollars)

         Zero coupons                                _______                                  _______
         Treasury bills, notes, bonds            _______                                  _______
         GNMAs                                        _______                                  _______
         Corporate paper                            _______                                  _______
         Certificate of Deposits                    _______

C.     If applicable, please indicate your additional miscellaneous fees and charges:

Audit confirmation reporting   _______
Wire transfers                         _______
ACH transfers                        _______
Meeting charges/travel            _______
Other:_____________            _______

D.     In order to more efficiently manage cash flow and invest funds, the Village desires the capability of on-line/electronic monitoring of its accounts. On-line monitoring should be accessible via personal computer. The Village wishes the capability of monitoring account balances and printing monthly statements. What is your capability of providing electronic monitoring services and the applicable fee schedule?

         List your costs for providing these services:

VII. REFERENCES

A.     List three public entity clients of the proposed manager, indicating size of accounts, contact person and phone number. 

B.      List your public entity clients who have ended their relationship with your firm within the last five years and client contacts.

VIII. PERFORMANCE

A.     Please include a breakdown of the portfolio compositions and average rates of return for 1999, 2000 and 2001 for each reference listed above in section VII A.

B.      It is understood that idle Village funds, in your firm’s custody, will be deposited into an established interest bearing money market account.  Please list the monthly average rate of return paid from your money market account for 1999, 2000 and 2001.

IX. CLIENT REPORTING

A.            Describe the firm's procedure for communicating with clients.

B.      How often do you typically meet? What is covered?

C.     The Village prefers the statement date to be the last day of the calendar month, and to be delivered to the Village within ten working days after the end of the calendar month.  Are these dates acceptable?    

If not, what dates can you guarantee?

D.     The following minimum information is required on the monthly statement: Investment Type, CUSIP Number, Date of Purchase, Maturity Date, Coupon Rate, Book Value, Market Value, Unrealized Gain or Loss, Interest Received for the Period, Accretion or Amortization for the Period, Activity for the Current Month.

E.      Submit a sample of a typical client’s monthly account statement and any other reports you deem beneficial.

X. RESPONDING COSTS & INSTRUCTIONS

A.     Costs

All costs directly or indirectly related to the preparation of a response to the Request for Proposal, any oral presentations required to supplement and/or clarify a proposal, and/or reasonable demonstrations which may be required by the Village shall be the sole responsibility of each financial institution/investment manager.

B.            Proposers shall thoroughly examine and be familiar with the specifications. The failure or omission of any proposer to examine this document shall in no way relieve any proposer of obligations with respect to this proposal.

C.            Response Instructions

        1.  Five copies of the proposal shall be submitted to:

Village of Grayslake
10 South Seymour Ave
PO Box 325
Grayslake  IL 60030-0325

     2.  They shall be clearly marked “Request for Proposal for Investment Management Services” and delivered on or before noon on March 15, 2001.  Please do not fax or email proposals.  The Village shall not be responsible for late delivery of a proposal under any condition.  Late proposals will not be considered.

3.      All proposals shall constitute, for a period of 90 days, an irrevocable offer to provide the Village the services set forth in the specifications and proposal.  

  Thank you for responding to this request for proposal.