FGGAM News just received this news release from Bernalillo County:
Bernalillo County – The work of repositioning Bernalillo County’s investment portfolio is now in full implementation.
Within the last week, County Manager Tom Zdunek and Bernalillo County Treasurer Manny Ortiz took the advice of recently-hired financial consultants who recommended selling $90 million of the county’s $220 million investment portfolio.
“We saw a good opportunity to sell and we went for it,” says County Treasurer Manny Ortiz. “As a result, we have about $140 million in the bank, which is more than enough cash to take care of the county’s month-to-month operating expenses.”
The county lost $10 million by selling the long-term securities before they matured. However, the county has earned $5 million on the portfolio since July of last year, off-setting the actual loss to $5 million.
The $10 million will not impact the county’s operating budget because the county has already reduced its budget this fiscal year by $13 million to account for expected losses in the value of the portfolio.
“This collaboration between the treasurer and the county administration is encouraging,” says Commission Chair Debbie O’Malley. “With the recent securities sale, I believe we have now turned a corner when it comes to stabilizing the budget and restructuring the investment portfolio for future needs.”
Contracted financial advisors with the firm Public Trust Advisors used an electronic bidding format to advertise and sell the bonds in the world-wide market.
Additional long-term securities could be sold in the near future, if market conditions are favorable and advantageous for the county to sell.
