INFORMATION 01-20-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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the investments to maturity and don't realize any gains or losses. Interest income is the revenue source we budget, but yet knowing prices of bonds are always changing. The finance staff makes sure the city is sufficiently liquid by continually updating our forecast on the anticipated cash flow needs over the next five -year time horizon. We also build in a reserve balance in case of unexpected expenditures; these funds are maintained in money market accounts. We anticipate we will have two large tax settlements each year, along with the regularly - scheduled debt service payments. Over the past couple of years, the search for quality has been the goal. We have avoided commercial paper for close to three years due to concerns over the credit quality issues. In addition, for high quality commercial paper, the yield is several basis points below a short - term CD. The yield curve has remained relatively flat in the 30 -day to 1 -year range, but the longer side has decreased slightly from September 30, 2014. This may also indicate that investors still have a preference for liquidity and will take a lower yield for short -term secure investments but it appears that outlook maybe starting to change. The city has to weigh the opportunity cost to invest in longer term investments or ride the yield curve and reinvest at shorter maturity intervals. Most recent purchases have been credit quality municipals (Mums) and certificates of deposits (CDs). Munis and CDs have been several basis points over agencies with call features. Investing in shorter -term investments has presented far fewer options since the decline in the commercial paper market. Treasury yields are still around historical lows but the longer end of the yield curve has decreased since the beginning of the year. Three -month notes are yielding 0.04% and the 10 -year notes are 2.17 %. See the graphical illustration below: 4.00% 3.00% 2.00% 1.00% 0.00% Treasury Yield Curve Cities generally use a short - horizon benchmark such as the two -year Treasury Bill (12/31 — 0.67% a slight increase from 0.58% as of 09/30) or some similar measure. Our current portfolio yield is roughly 1.43% which is several basis points over the treasury yield benchmark. This is calculated by taking the yield times the current value for each investment and dividing the resulting amount by the total portfolio value. As investments purchased in earlier years mature, we will be able to replace them and lock into some longer term interest rates, but they may have to be reinvested at lower interest rates as market conditions change. It is typical to lag the market as interest rates change. This will lead to more predictability in our interest earnings.