San Diego County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister announced today that the San Diego County investment pool received top ratings from a nationally recognized statistical rating organization.
Fitch Ratings confirmed the investment pool’s “AAA” rating for its highest underlying credit quality (or lowest vulnerability to default) and a very low sensitivity to market risk.
This marks the 21st consecutive year the investment pool has received the highest rating.
“Despite a volatile financial market this year, our investment team has done an excellent job safeguarding the principal in our investment pool, which reached a record $12.3 billion in public funds last April,” said McAllister.
“The ‘AAA’ rating reflects the high-quality assets in the investment pool, low degree of risk acceptance, and validates the County’s overall strategic focus on safety and preservation of investments,” said Supervisor Greg Cox, Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors. “I commend the work of our County Treasurer’s team in protecting the assets of our local public agencies.”
The Treasurer-Tax Collector’s team invests the funds in high quality securities on behalf of public agency pool participants, who use the money for the operational and capital needs of their agencies.
Currently, over 200 public agencies in the San Diego region invest in the pool, including all 42 public school districts, five community college districts, the San Diego Regional Airport Authority, SANDAG, MTS, and other public agencies such as cities, fire, and water districts.
In addition to the team of full-time investment professionals in the Treasury, a nine-member oversight committee comprised of county executives and public agency officials – with expertise in schools, special districts, cities and public finance – review the county’s investment policy annually.
