The objective of the City of Stamford investment and cash management program is to ensure the safety, liquidity and yield on the funds entrusted to it.  These objectives, set by the Investment Policy, will ensure that all funds are immediately and continuously invested at the most reasonable market rates obtainable at the time of investment.  The City of Stamford will seek to attain market rates of return on its investments, consistent with constraints imposed by its primary objectives (as listed below), cash flow considerations and state laws that restrict the investment of public funds.

The primary objectives, in priority order, of the City of Stamford’s investment actions shall be:

1  Safety: Safety of principal is the foremost objective of the investment program. Investments shall be undertaken in a manner that seeks to ensure the preservation of capital and protection of

principal in the overall portfolio. This will be achieved by mitigating credit and interest rate risk.

2  Liquidity: The investment portfolio shall remain sufficiently liquid to meet all operating requirements that may be reasonably anticipated.   This is assured through sufficient distribution of funds in highly liquid investments. The portfolio will be structured so that securities mature concurrent with cash needs to meet anticipated demands (static liquidity). Furthermore, since all possible cash demands cannot be anticipated, the portfolio should consist largely of securities with active secondary or resale markets (dynamic liquidity) or investments which offer same day liquidity for short-term funds.

3  Yield: The investment portfolio shall be designed with the objective of attaining a market rate of return throughout budgetary and economic cycles, taking into account the investment risk constraints and liquidity needs. Return on investment is of secondary importance compared to the safety and liquidity objectives described above. The investments authorized by this Policy are limited to relatively low risk securities in anticipation of earning a fair return relative to the risk being assumed.

Authorized and Suitable Investments

All investments shall be made in accordance with Connecticut General Statutes Sections 7-400-402.  Only the following types of securities and transactions shall be eligible for use by the City:

1. U.S. Treasury bills, notes and bonds
2. Federal Agency debentures and mortgage-backed issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA).
3. Federal Instrumentality debentures, discount notes, callable and step-up securities,  issued by the following only: Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB), Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), Federal Farm Credit Banks (FFCB), and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC).
4. Time Certificates of issued by a qualified public depository as defined in section 36a-330 of the General Statutes of Connecticut that are fully insured or collateralized.
5. Money Market Mutual Funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that (1) are “no-load” (meaning no commission or fee shall be charged on purchases or sales of shares); (2) maintain a constant daily net asset value per share of $1.00; (3) limit assets of the fund to the securities described in 1, 2 and 3 above and repurchase agreements collateralized by such securities; and (4) have a maximum stated maturity and weighted average maturity in accordance with Federal Securities Regulation 2a-7.
6. Investment Pools that (1) are “no-load” (meaning no commission or fee shall be charged on purchases or sales of shares; (2) maintain a constant daily net asset value per share of $1.00; (3) limit assets of the fund to the securities described in 1, 2 and 3 above and repurchase agreements collateralized by such securities; and (4) have a custodian that is a bank as defined in Section 36a-2 of the General Statutes of Connecticut, or an out-of-state bank, as defined in said section, having one or more branches in Connecticut.
7. State Short-Term Investment Fund (STIF).