Fla. Stat. § 218.409 — Florida Code / Title XIV / Chapter 218 / Part IV / Section 218.409
218.409 Administration of the trust fund.
Status: in_force

(1) Upon receipt of the items specified in s. 218.407 from the local governing body, the board or a professional money management firm shall accept all wire transfers of funds into the trust fund. The board or a professional money management firm shall also wire-transfer invested local government funds to the local government upon request of the local government official named in the resolution.

(2)(a) The trustees shall ensure that the board or a professional money management firm administers the trust fund on behalf of the participants. The board or a professional money management firm shall have the power to invest such funds in accordance with a written investment policy. The investment policy shall be updated annually to conform to best investment practices. The standard of prudence to be used by investment officials shall be the fiduciary standards as set forth in s. 215.47(10), which shall be applied in the context of managing an overall portfolio. Portfolio managers acting in accordance with written procedures and an investment policy and exercising due diligence shall be relieved of personal responsibility for an individual security’s credit risk or market price changes, provided deviations from expectations are reported in a timely fashion and the liquidity and the sale of securities are carried out in accordance with the terms of this part. (b) Officers and employees involved in the investment process shall refrain from personal business activity that could conflict with the proper execution and management of the investment program or that could impair their ability to make impartial decisions. Employees and investment officials shall disclose any material interests in financial institutions with which they conduct business on behalf of the trust fund. They shall further disclose any personal financial or investment positions that could be related to the performance of the investment portfolio. Employees and officers shall refrain from undertaking personal investment transactions with the same individual with whom business is conducted on behalf of the board. (c) The board or a professional money management firm and all employees have an affirmative duty to immediately disclose any material impact to the trust fund to the participants. To ensure such disclosure, a system of internal controls shall be established by the board, which shall be documented in writing as part of the investment policy. The controls shall be designed to prevent the loss of public funds arising from fraud, employee error, and misrepresentation by third parties, unanticipated changes in financial markets, or imprudent actions by employees and officers of the board or a professional money management firm. The controls shall also include formal escalation reporting guidelines for all employees. The guidelines shall establish procedures to address material impacts on the trust fund that require reporting and action. (d) The investment policy shall be reviewed and approved annually by the trustees or when market changes dictate, and in each event the investment policy shall be reviewed by the Investment Advisory Council.

(3) The board or a professional money management firm may purchase such surety or other bonds as may be necessary for its officials in order to protect the trust fund. A reserve fund may be established to fulfill this purpose. However, any reserve must be a portion of the management fee and must be fully disclosed, including its purpose, in the enrollment materials at the time a unit of local government considers participation. Further, any change in the amount to be charged for a reserve must have a reasonable notice period to allow any participant to withdraw from the trust fund prior to the new reserve charge being imposed.

(4) The board or a professional money management firm shall purchase investments for a pooled investment account in which all participants share pro rata in the capital gain, income, or losses, subject to any penalties for early withdrawal. Any provisions for penalties, including their purpose, must be disclosed in the enrollment materials. Any change in the amount to be charged for a penalty must have a reasonable notice period to allow any participant to withdraw from the trust fund prior to the new penalty charge being imposed. A system shall be developed by the board, and disclosed in the enrollment materials, subject to annual approval by the trustees, to keep account balances current and to apportion pooled investment earnings to individual accounts.

(5) The board shall keep a separate account, designated by name and number of each participating local government. A maximum number of accounts allowed for each participant may be established by the board. Individual transactions and totals of all investments, or the share belonging to each participant, shall be recorded in the accounts.

(6)(a) The board or a professional money management firm shall provide a report, at a minimum monthly or upon the occurrence of a material event, to every participant having a beneficial interest in the trust fund, the board’s executive director, the trustees, the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, and the Investment Advisory Council. The report shall include: 1. Reports of any material impacts on the trust fund and any actions or escalations taken by staff to address such impacts. The trustees shall provide quarterly a report to the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee that the trustees have reviewed and approved the monthly reports and actions taken, if any, to address any impacts. 2. A management summary that provides an analysis of the status of the current investment portfolio and the individual transactions executed over the last month. This management summary shall be prepared in a manner that will allow anyone to ascertain whether investment activities during the reporting period have conformed to investment policies. Such reporting shall be in conformance with best market practices. The board or a professional money management firm shall furnish upon request the details of an investment transaction to any participant, the trustees, and the Investment Advisory Council. (b) The market value of the portfolio shall be calculated daily. Withdrawals from the trust fund shall be based on a process that is transparent to participants and will ensure that advantages or disadvantages do not occur to parties making deposits or withdrawals on any particular day. A statement of the market value and amortized cost of the portfolio shall be issued to participants in conjunction with any deposits or withdrawals. In addition, this information shall be reported monthly with the items in paragraph (a) to participants, the trustees, and the Investment Advisory Council. The review of the investment portfolio, in terms of value and price volatility, shall be performed with practices consistent with the GFOA Recommended Practice on “Mark-to-Market Practices for State and Local Government Investment Portfolios and Investment Pools.” In defining market value, consideration shall be given to GASB Statement 31. Additional reporting may be made to pool participants through regular and frequent ongoing multimedia educational materials and communications, including, but not limited to, historical performance, investment holdings, amortized cost and market value of the trust fund, credit quality, and average maturity of the trust fund investments.

(7) Costs incurred in carrying out the provisions of this part shall be deducted from the interest earnings accruing to the trust fund. Such deductions shall be prorated among the participant local governments in the percentage that each participant’s deposits bear to the total trust fund. The remaining interest earned shall be distributed monthly to participants according to the amount invested. Except for costs, the board or a professional money management firm may not transfer the interest or use the interest for any other purpose, including, but not limited to, making up investment losses.

(8)(a) The principal, and any part thereof, of each account constituting the trust fund is subject to payment at any time from the moneys in the trust fund. However, the executive director may, in good faith, on the occurrence of an event that has a material impact on liquidity or operations of the trust fund, for 48 hours limit contributions to or withdrawals from the trust fund to ensure that the board can invest moneys entrusted to it in exercising its fiduciary responsibility. Such action must be immediately disclosed to all participants, the trustees, the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, and the Investment Advisory Council. The trustees shall convene an emergency meeting as soon as practicable from the time the executive director has instituted such measures and review the necessity of those measures. If the trustees are unable to convene an emergency meeting before the expiration of the 48-hour moratorium on contributions and withdrawals, the moratorium may be extended by the executive director until the trustees are able to meet to review the necessity for the moratorium. If the trustees agree with such measures, the trustees shall vote to continue the measures for up to an additional 15 days. The trustees must convene and vote to continue any such measures before the expiration of the time limit set, but in no case may the time limit set by the trustees exceed 15 days. (b) An order to withdraw funds may not be issued upon any account for a larger amount than the share of the particular account to which it applies; and if such order is issued, the responsible official shall be personally liable under his or her bond for the entire overdraft resulting from the payment if made.

(9) The Auditor General shall conduct an annual financial audit of the trust fund, which shall include testing for compliance with the investment policy. The completed audit shall be provided to the participants, the board, the trustees, the Investment Advisory Council, and the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee. As soon as practicable, but no later than 30 days after completion of the audit, the trustees shall report to the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee that the trustees have reviewed the audit of the trust fund and shall certify that any necessary items are being addressed by a corrective action plan that includes target completion dates.

History: s. 1, ch. 77-394; s. 4, ch. 84-137; s. 1179, ch. 95-147; s. 5, ch. 98-124; s. 5, ch. 2008-59; s. 19, ch. 2009-21; s. 13, ch. 2010-180; s. 1, ch. 2018-140.