REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL RFP Harrisburg Area Community College Foundation INVESTMENT ADVISORY CONSULTING SERVICES

Transcription

1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL RFP13-11 Harrisburg Area Community College Foundation INVESTMENT ADVISORY CONSULTING SERVICES

2 Table of Contents General Information.Page 3 Introduction Timeline Qualified Bidders..Page 4 Evaluation Criteria Page 4 Bidding Instructions..Page 6 Background...Page 7 Organization Assets to be Managed Authority and Relationship Required Proposal Information.Page 8 Consultant Contact Information Organizational Overview Clients Investment Manager / Fund Research Asset Allocation Performance Measurement, Manager Monitoring & Reporting Fee Proposal and References Other Additional Information...Page 13 Attachments Page 14

3 General Information Introduction Harrisburg Area Community College Foundation (HACC) is conducting a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an investment advisor. The investment advisor will assist its Council, Finance and Audit Committee, Investment Subcommittee, and staff in making prudent investment decisions with respect to the Foundation s investment portfolio. HACC currently engages an investment advisor in this capacity and they will be provided an opportunity to respond to this RFP. The HACC Investment Subcommittee is a subcommittee of the HACC Finance and Audit Committee. This RFP process results from the HACC Investment Subcommittee s recommendation that HACC needs to assess the market to ensure it is benefiting from the most effective and cost efficient advisory and fund management services consistent with its Statement of Investment Policy, Objectives, and Guidelines. HACC has engaged a consultant to conduct this RFP process. Accordingly, all inquiries and correspondence should be directed to: Larry Fiorini, Principal CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors 610 West Germantown Pike, Suite 400 Plymouth Meeting, PA (267) larry.fiorini@cliftonlarsonallen.com HACC reserves the right to reject any proposal submitted under this process for any reason and will not reimburse any bidder cost associated with responding to this RFP. Timeline Phase Due Date Distribution of the RFP June 26, 2013 Questions to Consultant RFP Due Date Reports due to HACC Finalists in-person interviews with HACC Investment Subcommittee Contract Awarded No later than July 9, 2013 by 4pm ET July 18, 2013 by 5:00pm ET August 15, 2013 September 4 and 5, 2013 in Harrisburg, PA After the Board of Trustees Meeting on October 1,

4 Qualified Bidders To be considered a qualified candidate, your firm must: Comply with all of the specifications within the RFP or clearly indicate where your proposal deviates Provide fee-based investment advisory services Include a fixed fee quotation for the services indicated; and Respond to all items in the RFP Manage a minimum of $2 billion as of December 31, 2012 Specific attention will be paid to: Organization and capabilities Evaluation Criteria Credentials, experience and reputation of the proposed investment advisory team Experience advising and reporting to similar sized non-profit organizations on the prudent management and oversight of reserve funds Investment research and manager / fund due diligence capabilities Access to quality investment managers and fund platforms Demonstrated ability to develop and report portfolio specific weighted average composite benchmarks supported by style-specific benchmarks for each asset class utilized Competitiveness of fees; both gross advisor fees and net of fee portfolio performance over full market cycles Quality of existing client relationships and references Ability to deliver within 10 calendar days of month / quarter end, accurate, informative, and useful performance reports 4

5 Ability of investment advisor to actively participate during quarterly Investment Subcommittee conference calls and annual in-person meetings with Finance and Audit Committee Ability to adhere to HACC Statement of Investment Policy, Objectives, and Guidelines Ability to assist in developing and updating policies and guidelines for various investment programs, (e.g., endowment, restricted funds, etc.) Ability to provide education and training to HACC Council, Finance and Audit Committee, Investment Subcommittee, and staff on investment topics as requested 5

6 Bidding Instructions One copy of your sealed proposal and any collateral materials should be sent to the attention of Larry Fiorini, Principal, CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors. Please include an electronic copy of all materials by CD, DVD, memory stick, etc, then mail to: Larry Fiorini, Principal CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors 610 West Germantown Pike, Suite 400 Plymouth Meeting, PA The package must be received no later than 5pm ET, July 18, Any questions or requests for information regarding this RFP must be submitted in writing to Mr. Fiorini via at no later than 4:00 pm ET on July 9 th, Mr. Fiorini and/or his associates will respond to these requests and share the response with all firms to ensure all bidders have the same information from which to prepare their proposals. Notice of intent to respond should be confirmed to Mr. Fiorini via by 5pm ET, July 9, The response should include the names and contact information for all individuals representing your firm in this process. To facilitate our review of proposals, respondents are required to present the information contained in their proposal in the order requested in this RFP. 6

7 Background Organization A vision for the future of Harrisburg Area Community College inspires and guides the mission and work of the Foundation. The Foundation is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code as described in Section 501(c)(3). The Foundation enhances Harrisburg Area Community College s tradition of academic excellence and student success by providing additional resources to support the College s comprehensive mission. The business of the Foundation is managed by a Board of Directors, comprised of various local leaders who serve in a volunteer capacity, in accordance with the by-laws of the Foundation. As the College s partner, the Foundation helps assure that quality higher education is affordable and accessible for all area residents. As the recipient of private, individual, corporate, and foundation donations, the Foundation Board of Directors has a fiduciary responsibility to manage these funds prudently and efficiently. Assets to be managed The Foundation employs a total return policy for the permanently restricted endowments that are currently valued at approximately $30 million. The Investment Committee has adopted a spendable rate of 4% of the investments market value average for disbursement purposes. A copy of the current Investment Policy statement in included with this RFP. Authority and Relationship We expect to establish a long-term relationship with the investment advisor selected as part of this process, subject to periodic re-bid at the discretion of HACC. General investment advisory services requested pursuant to this RFP include, but are not limited to, providing investment performance measurement / attribution, investment policy, asset allocation studies (e.g., Monte Carlo simulations), investment manager searches, investment manager / fund evaluations, compliance monitoring and educational materials and presentations to the Investment Subcommittee. The selected advisor will be required to attend and present during quarterly conference calls of the Investment Subcommittee and annually at an in-person meeting of the Finance and Audit Committee. 7

8 Required Proposal Information Consultant Contact Information 1. Please provide the following contact information: Name: Title: Address: Address: Phone Number: Facsimile Number: Firm s Internet (www) Address: Organizational Overview 2. Please provide the following firm information: a. A general description of the corporate structure of the firm, including the legal form of organization, the parent company (if applicable), and any affiliated companies, strategic partnerships, and joint ventures. If any significant shortterm changes to the firm s corporate structure, senior management, ownership or staffing are anticipated, please also note these. 3. Please provide an organizational chart for your firm and consulting unit. 4. For the year ended December 31, 2012 please list all services provided by the firm, the nature thereof, and the dollar revenue or percentages of total income that each service represents. a. Revenues from independent consulting to non-profit organizations b. Revenues from independent consulting to for-profit organizations c. Revenues from independent consulting to individuals d. Revenues from investment management, brokerage activity, custodial services e. Revenue from other sources (please specify) 8

9 5. Since inception, has the firm, the Primary Consultant(s) or any other officer or principal of the firm been involved in any business litigation, regulatory or other legal proceedings or government investigation involving allegations of fraud, negligence, criminal activity or breach of fiduciary duty relating to investment consulting activities? If so, please describe the case(s) and provide an explanation and indicate the current status. 6. Please address your philosophy, process and experience in advising clients with respect to socially responsible investing. 7. Please address your philosophy, process and experience in advising clients with respect to alternative investments. 8. Please address your philosophy, process and experience in advising clients with respect to the use of passive investment strategies to mitigate portfolio risk and enhance returns. 9. Please list the total number of professionals in the firm by general roles (e.g., Advisor, Analyst, Research, Administrative, etc.) 10. Please provide a biography of the key personnel that will be assigned to the HACC account including: a. Name: b. Title: c. Role: d. Total years of institutional investment experience: e. Total years of institutional investment consulting experience: f. Total years with the firm: g. Educational qualifications: h. Total current number of assigned accounts: i. Total dollars under advisory and average client portfolio size: 11. Please explain how the team dedicated to our account would function. Please be sure to identify who would be the client relationship lead, who would perform the analytical work on the relationship, and who would serve as the back-up consultant in situations when the proposed lead consultant could not serve or attend meetings. 12. Please describe the levels of insurance coverage, including the amounts of errors and omission insurance and any other fiduciary professional liability insurance your firm carries. Clients 13. Please list the number of a current institutional clients and assets the firm serviced in a full-service retainer capacity as of December 31, (Performance evaluation services or project-based work alone are not considered full-service retainer investment consulting relationships.) 14. Please provide a list of references from other non-profit organizations that your firm provides full-services for, along with a contact person for five of the organizations. 9

10 15. Please provide the names of all clients lost in calendar years and the reason for each loss. Investment Manager / Fund Research 16. Describe the structure of your research. How many professionals and/or organizations are assigned to investment manager/fund research, selection and monitoring? 17. Please describe the capabilities and differentiating features of the firm s manager /fund research staff, partner organizations and information technology (IT) platform. Is the IT platform proprietary or purchased? Are managers charged fees for inclusion? How is the data input and verified? How many managers and funds are tracked? What characteristics are tracked? 18. Please describe your due diligence process over manager/fund selection. How often does your staff visit with money managers and fund managers both in-house and onsite? 19. What guidelines do you utilize in respect to the asset allocation and recommending possible termination of an investment manager or fund investment? Asset Allocation 20. Describe your asset allocation methodology and tools? Discuss the theory and methodology of the asset allocation model. 21. How are your capital market projections derived? 22. Describe how the portfolio will be rebalanced. Performance Measurement, Manager Monitoring & Reporting 23. Please describe how the firm monitors a client s investment managers/funds. Besides investment returns, what key criteria does the firm consider in the review of an investment manager/fund? 24. Please describe the capabilities and differentiating features of the firm s performance measurement database(s). Is the database(s) proprietary or purchased? How is data input and verified? To what extent can report formats be customized? 25. Please describe how benchmarks are chosen or developed and how performance is compared to similar portfolios. Can the firm provide custom benchmarks? Style benchmarks? Please also describe the database(s) the firm uses for peer universe comparisons. 10

11 26. Confirm that you will provide consolidated reporting of investment returns monthly by individual manager/fund, including an assessment of performance and compliance with the HACC Investment Policy. 27. Describe the time frame in which you deliver standard reports. 28. Describe how portfolio risk will be measured. 29. Confirm that you will provide secure Internet access to our account data. What information is available online? What online features are offered? 30. Confirm that you are able to comply with HACC Investment Policy. Fee Proposal and References: 31. Please provide a fee proposal for full service fee-based investment consulting for the next three years, including a list of all services that would be included in the fee and those services that would result in additional fees. Please include a break down of one-time set up fees, administrative fees, investment management fees, reporting fees, and transactional fees. 32. Please provide a schedule indicating how often and on what basis your fees are adjusted. Please detail your fee increases over the past three calendar years and indicate for what period of time you will guarantee your fee quote under this proposal. Other: 33. Discuss how you would structure the relationship between your firm and its advisors and the HACC Investment Subcommittee and HACC staff. 34. Please describe the firm s IT capabilities and resources. How does the firm use IT to share and leverage information resources across the organization? 35. Please present a sample proposed Long Term Portfolio and Intermediate Term Portfolio that is consistent with the target return and risk tolerance profile inherent in our Investment Policy. This sample should utilize actual manager and fund selections accessible through your platform with projected returns and costs (manager, trading, custodian and advisory) for each asset class and may utilize both active and passive strategies as you would recommend for HACC. We recognize the actual strategy and asset allocation may change from the proposed consultancy but would like a framework to understand your approach, expected net returns and cost structure on the most significant of our asset holdings. 36. Please provide year-to-date, and trailing one, three, five, seven, and ten-year returns for the sample portfolio requested above with comparisons to the established benchmarks. 11

12 37. In general, what key strengths or competitive advantages does the firm possess that would generate superior performance and service? 38. Please describe the process and timeline for the transition of our Portfolio if HACC were to retain your firm. 39. Non-discrimination. Please confirm that your organization and any subsidiary or related entity that may provide services to HACC under this relationship does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, national origin, or ancestry. 12

13 Additional Information: Please provide the following sample reports and information as exhibits to your Proposal: 1. Sample Monthly Performance Monitoring Reports as of 3/31/13 2. Quarterly Investment Performance Review Reports as of 3/31/13 3. Annual Investment Performance Review Reports as of 12/31/12 13

14 Attachments: 1. Statement of Investment Policy, Objectives, and Guidelines 2. Long Term and Intermediate Term Portfolios as December 31,