Alameda County board adopts treasurer's 2026 investment policy while pausing implementation of ethical appendix pending peer review

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the treasurer-tax collector's annual investment policy for calendar year 2026, incorporating a reference appendix to the county's Ethical Investment Policy but leaving final implementation of that appendix subject to an independent peer review.

Treasurer Henry Levy told the board the 2026 policy includes three principal changes beyond the standard annual update: explicit authorization to use a new short-term liquidity vehicle called "Outfit," the addition of certain collateralized mortgage-backed securities allowed by state law, and an appendix that attaches the Ethical Investment Policy (EIP) previously adopted by the board pending further review. "I felt, because you had approved it, that I could put it into the policy," Levy said, adding the board retains the right to change the appendix after the peer review.

The decision followed more than two hours of public comment that focused on Item 47, with speakers sharply divided. Supporters of immediate implementation urged the board to rescind an October directive that delayed the EIP's rollout and argued further review would needlessly stall the county from aligning investments…