Investment Advisory Services RFP

Agency:	Buncombe County
State:	North Carolina
Type of Government:	State & Local
NAICS Category:	541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services 541618 - Other Management Consulting Services
Posted Date:	Feb 8, 2024
Due Date:	Feb 22, 2024
Bid Source:	Please Login to View Page
Contact information:	Please Login to View Page
Bid Documents:	Please Login to View Page

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BUNCOMBE COUNTY

Request for Proposal

INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES

Date of Issue: February 8, 2024

Proposal Submission Deadline: February 22, 2024

At 3:00PM ET

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

2.2 NOTICE REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

2.3 RFP SCHEDULE

2.4 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

2.5 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

2.6 PROPOSAL CONTENTS

3.0 METHOD OF AWARD AND EVALUATION

3.1 METHOD OF AWARD

3.2 EVALUATION CRITERIA

4.0 REQUIREMENTS

4.1 CONTRACT TERM

4.2 PRICING

4.3 VENDOR EXPERIENCE

4.4 VENDOR’S REPRESENTATIONS

5.0 SCOPE OF WORK

6.0 GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1.0 PURPOSE AND BACKGROUND

Purpose

Buncombe County is requesting proposals from qualified firms to provide non-discretionary Investment Advisory Services

to assist Buncombe County in managing its investments portfolio. Services required shall include the selection and

implementation of appropriate investment transactions, advising on the daily management of the County’s portfolio, and

regular reporting of all investment transactions. A comprehensive list of required professional services can be found in

the section “Scope of Work”.

Background

Buncombe County is the largest county in Western North Carolina, and the seventh most populous county in the state

with more than 270,000 residents. The County serves as the economic hub of the region. Buncombe County spans 660

square miles, with one city and five towns. The City of Asheville is the largest, and is the county seat. Throughout history

Buncombe has been an important crossroads, being approximately 240 miles west of the state capital, Raleigh, North

Carolina; 205 miles north of Atlanta, Georgia; and 120 miles east of Knoxville, Tennessee.

The County operates under a commissioner/manager form of government, with a seven-member Board of County

Commissioners. The County’s workforce consists of over 1,600 regular employees who provide public safety, human

services, cultural and recreational, economic and physical development, general government services, and support for

public education.

The County has a General Fund appropriation of $430.4 million for fiscal year 2024, and actual expenditures across all

governmental funds totaled approximately $600 million in the 2023 audit. The total taxable assessment for 2023 is over

$51.2 billion in value. Buncombe County has excellent credit ratings, with an Aaa bond rating from Moody’s Investor

Service and an AAA bond rating from Standard and Poor’s.

The Asheville/Buncombe area continues to be a very desirable place to live and visit, as evidenced by a robust tourism

industry and substantial recognition in destination reviews, such as: “#15 Favorite City in the US” Travel & Leisure, “#1

Hottest Honeymoon Destination of 2023” PureWow, and “#17 Top American Town To Visit in the Winter” Town & Country.

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

The RFP is comprised of the base RFP document, any attachments, and any addenda released before Contract award.

All attachments and addenda released for this RFP in advance of any Contract award are incorporated herein by

reference.

2.2 NOTICE REGARDING RFP TERMS AND CONDITIONS

It shall be the Vendor’s responsibility to read the Instructions, the County’s terms and conditions, all relevant exhibits and

attachments, and any other components made a part of this RFP and comply with all requirements and specifications

herein. Vendors also are responsible for obtaining and complying with all addenda and other changes that may be issued

in connection with this RFP.

If Vendors have questions, issues, or exceptions regarding any term, condition, or other component within this RFP,

those must be submitted as questions in accordance with the instructions in Section 2.5 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS. If

the County determines that any changes will be made as a result of the questions asked, then such decisions will be

communicated in the form of an RFP addendum. The County may also elect to leave open the possibility for later

negotiation and amendment of specific provisions of the Contract that have been addressed during the question and

answer period. Other than through this process, the County rejects and will not be required to evaluate or consider any

additional or modified terms and conditions submitted with Vendor’s proposal. This applies to any language appearing

in or attached to the document as part of the Vendor’s proposal that purports to vary any terms and conditions or Vendors’

instructions herein or to render the proposal non-binding or subject to further negotiation. Vendor’s proposal shall

constitute a firm offer. By execution and delivery of this RFP Response, the Vendor agrees that any additional or

modified terms and conditions, whether submitted purposely or inadvertently, shall have no force or effect, and

will be disregarded. Noncompliance with, or any attempt to alter or delete, this paragraph shall constitute

sufficient grounds to reject Vendor’s proposal as nonresponsive.

2.3 RFP SCHEDULE

The table below shows the intended schedule for this RFP. The County will make every effort to adhere to this schedule.

Event

Responsibility Date and Time

Issue RFP

Submit Proposals

Contract Award

County

Vendor

County

2/8/2024

2/22/2024 3:00pm ET

March 2024

2.4 PROPOSAL QUESTIONS

Upon review of the RFP documents, Vendors may have questions to clarify or interpret the RFP in order to submit the

best proposal possible. To accommodate the Proposal Questions process, Vendors shall submit any such questions by

the above due date.

Written questions shall be emailed to ron.venturella@buncombecounty.org. Vendors should enter “RFP Investment

Advisory Services Questions” as the subject for the email. Questions submittals should include a reference to the

applicable RFP section.

No information, instruction or advice provided orally or informally by any Buncombe County personnel, whether made in

response to a question or otherwise in connection with this RFP, shall be considered authoritative or binding.

2.5 PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL

Proposals will be received until 3:00PM, 02/22/2024. All proposals may be submitted electronically submitted via email

and properly identified with the title “Investment Advisory Services”.

Proposals may be emailed to:

Ron Venturella, Procurement Manager

E-mail: ron.venturella@buncombecounty.org

The County’s capacity for email attachments is 9mb. It is the bidder’s responsibility to ensure the proposal is received

prior to the proposal acceptance time. Late proposals will not be accepted. The County reserves the right to accept or

reject all or any part of any proposal, waive informalities and award the contract to best serve the interest of the County.

It is the responsibility of the applicant that their proposal is received. Receipt of proposals can be verified by calling 828-

250-4154.

2.6 PROPOSAL CONTENTS

Each vendor should provide:

Required Criteria

a. Affirm that the proposer is a properly registered investment advisor.

b. Affirm that all services will be provided by the firm.

History of Firm

a. State the scope of services provided by the firm and estimate what portion of its business is derived from

providing investment management services for governmental or non-profit entities.

b. Size, composition and location of the firm’s office from which the work will be done. Size, composition

and location of the firm’s office(s) within the State of North Carolina. Has your firm experienced a material

change in organizational structure, ownership or management during the past (5) five years? If so, please

describe.

c. Provide a list of governmental and non-profit clients in North Carolina and surrounding states that you

have provided investment management services for during the last (5) five years, the dates of the service,

and the name of the key contact person of the entity at that time.

d. Provide the following current Total Fixed Income information:

i. Public funds under management,

ii. Other funds under management.

e. Identify, key personnel who will be assigned to this engagement. Furnish resumes (as an appendix) of all

personnel expected to be assigned to actually perform investment management services, including their

governmental and non-profit experience and applicable training received during, the past (3) three years.

Additionally, the section must include resumes, including training and experience, of backup employees

in the event a member of the staff is unable to perform the work.

f. Identify the number of investment professionals (Portfolio managers, analysts, researchers, et.) employed

by your firm.

g. Describe the types and frequency of records and reports which would be provided, including the methods

and formulas used to calculate yield and performance. (Sample reports and records may be included as

an appendix).

h. Describe the types of investment research utilized and the methods for making investment decisions,

including maturity and sector selection. The description should also include the type of analytical

investment advisory services you will provide to County staff.

i. Describe the daily procedures for portfolio review and client contact.

j. Present a concise outline of specific services your firm is qualified and prepared to provide as investment

advisor to Buncombe County. Identify and discuss any of the services, or method of approach to the

services, which your firm believes to be either “unique” or “outstanding” or which is recognized as giving

your firm a competitive edge or advantage.

k. Provide a sample of your firm’s proposed contract.

l. Total number of accounts gained or lost in the last (3) three years. If lost, why?

m. Describe your fixed income investment philosophy and process. Please provide a sample of a current

short-term portfolio.

n. How are your transactions executed and what percentage is within the firm? Describe any other business

affiliations (e.g., subsidiaries, joint ventures, “soft dollar” arrangements with brokers).

o. Describe the dollar amount of coverage for errors and omissions, SEC-required fidelity bond and other

fiduciary coverage. List insurance carriers involved.

p. Does your firm adhere to the Code of Professional and Ethical Standards as described by the CFA

Institute?

q. Please provide a history of your firm’s fixed income performance for at least (5) five years versus the

Merrill Lynch 1-5 year US Treasury Index. Provide information about the composition and duration of the

data used, including the number of portfolios making up the composite, for your presentation of

performance history. The composite should be prepared and presented in compliance with the CFA

Institute’s GIPS®. For the most recent reporting period, please indicate what percentage of assets in the

composite are government entities.

File Name	Size	Type	Date & Time Added
Investment Advisory Services RFP	317 KB		02/08/2024 1:35 PM

Investment Advisory Services RFP

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