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Council votes to invite three investment managers to present options for town funds
Summary
Council voted 5–2 to invite the Ocean State Investment Pool representative, TD Bank municipal investment staff and Wells Fargo to present municipal investment options after a proposal to seek higher yields and professional management for town funds.
The Orchard Town Council voted May 26 to invite representatives from the Ocean State Investment Pool (OSIP), TD Bank’s municipal investment group and Wells Fargo to brief the council on options for professionally managed, higher-yield municipal investments.
Councilor Reese, who introduced the item, said pooled professional management could free staff time and potentially increase safe, liquid yields by leveraging scale. He noted OSIP’s short-term and multi-term returns and argued the council should "educate ourselves and do its own research." Finance director Marston cautioned that pooled investment products are not FDIC insured; she reported a 10-month TD Bank CD yield of 3.56% and said TD may provide full FDIC insurance/collateralization that some pooled funds do not.
Council members discussed trade-offs between insured bank products and pooled municipal funds that offer liquidity and potentially higher yields but carry market risk. After discussion, the motion to invite the three providers for presentations passed 5–2. Councilors Blank and Payero voted no.
The presentations will be scheduled so councilors can compare products, fees and collateralization before deciding whether to change treasury management practices or adopt new investment vehicles.
