Title
Receive and Accept the Treasurer’s Report of Investments for the quarter ending March 31, 2013
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Receive and accept the Treasurer’s Report of Investments for the quarter ending
March 31, 2013.
SUMMARY:
Government Code Section 53646 (b)(1) states the Treasurer may submit a quarterly report of investments. The attached Exhibit A provides a narrative portfolio review of economic and market conditions that support the investment activity during the January - March period. Exhibit B describes the investment portfolio position by investment type as of March 31, 2013. Exhibit C is a listing of historical Monterey County Treasury Pool yields versus benchmarks. Exhibit D describes the investment portfolio by maturity range, and Exhibit E is an overview of the short term funds that the Treasurer invests in overnight, liquid assets.
DISCUSSION:
During the January to March quarter the Treasury bond curve changed very little in the
1 month - 5 year term. Yields in maturities of six months to three years were down slightly, while very short term bonds with maturity dates under six months and longer term maturities of five years and over were slightly higher. The Federal Reserve continued their plans to expand their Quantitative Easing program, and continued their assurances that they will keep the Fed Funds Rate at or below 0.25. During January and February, the federal government was unable to come to an agreement on budget cuts, which caused the automatic sequestration of $85 billion in federal spending at the beginning of March and furthered the perception that they are unable to develop solutions to an already difficult recovery. At the end of March, the ongoing financial issues in the EU flared up again, this time in Cyprus. After the Cyprian government refused to adopt the originally proposed austerity measures to receive a bailout from the EU, they later enacted legislation that will bre...
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