California Special Districts Association proudly announced their newest value-added benefit at the General Manager Leadership Summit in Coronado, California June 19-21. The association’s relationship with Public Trust Advisors, LLC (Public Trust) was the impetus for the creation of a newly created local government investment pool (LGIP), California Cooperative Liquid Assets Securities System (California CLASS).
The investment program is a California Joint Powers Authority governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of special district and city finance professionals. The purpose of the California CLASS is to provide California public agencies with an additional diversification option for their daily liquidity and strategic reserve investments. Public Trust, in its capacity as investment advisor and fund administrator, is committed to providing California CLASS Participants with an exceptional user experience and professional portfolio management. The fundamental purpose of California CLASS is to develop and sustain an investment program wholly committed to the tenets of safety, liquidity, and yield for the benefit of participating public agencies.
The California CLASS Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (the JPA) was fully executed earlier this month by the California CLASS Founding Participants, including CSDA. The initial Board of Trustees was subsequently established, including Chairperson Christina Turner (City of Morgan Hill), Vice Chairperson Ryan Clausnitzer (Alameda County Mosquito Abatement District and CSDA Board President), Treasurer George Harris (City of Lancaster), and Secretary Margaret Moggia (West Basin Municipal Water District).
left to right: Brent Turner, Tom Tight and Bob Schull with California CLASS
“California CLASS was created in response to the ever-growing investment needs of California public agencies. The Board of Trustees, in cooperation with Public Trust Advisors, Cal Cities and CSDA, is excited to offer the Prime and Enhanced Cash funds to provide a cash management option that prioritizes the public agency investor experience.” said Christina Turner, California CLASS Board Chair. “California CLASS provides valuable investment options and is a powerful diversification tool for public agency investors seeking safety, convenience, transparency, and competitive returns.”
"Given the amount of liquidity on many of our Association members' balance sheets, we are tremendously excited to be launching California CLASS. The partnership with Public Trust provides a unique opportunity to work with an investment advisor that possesses a very successful track record delivering cash management solutions for local governments nationally. We’re confident that the client service efforts, technological resources, and overall commitment to the local government investment pool space that Public Trust brings to California CLASS will result in a seamless cash management experience for California’s diverse public agencies,” said Neil McCormick, CEO of the California Special District Association.
California CLASS is endorsed by the League of California Cities (Cal Cities) and the California Special Districts Association (CSDA). U.S. Bank, N.A. serves as the custodian, and Orrick provides special legal counsel to the program.
“Our team at Public Trust is thrilled to partner with Cal Cities and CSDA; together, we seek to provide an exceptional investment experience to California public agency investors. California CLASS was created for all types of eligible public agencies—small, large, and in-between—and it’s an honor to partner with two organizations that represent their memberships so professionally and faithfully. The professionals at CSDA and Cal Cities provide exceptional levels of service to their members and share the same client-first values that our team at Public Trust commit to achieving every day,” said Tom Tight, Managing Director at Public Trust.
For additional information regarding the services provided by California CLASS, please visit the website at www.californiaclass.com or contact California CLASS Client Services at (866) 987-4445 or via email at clientservices@californiaclass.com.
California CLASS is rated 'AAAm' by S&P Global Ratings. A ‘AAAm’ rating by S&P Global Ratings is obtained after S&P evaluates a number of factors including credit quality, market price exposure, and management. For a full description on rating methodology, please visit www.spglobal.com. California CLASS Enhanced Cash is rated 'AAAf/S1' by FitchRatings. The ‘AAAf’ rating is Fitch’s opinion on the overall credit profile within a fixed-income fund/portfolio and indicates the highest underlying credit quality of the pool’s investments. The ‘S1’ volatility rating is Fitch’s opinion on the relative sensitivity of a portfolio’s total return and/or net asset value to assumed changes in credit spreads and interest rates. The ‘S1’ volatility rating indicates that the fund possesses a low sensitivity to market risks. For a full description on rating methodology, please visit www.fitchratings.com. Ratings are subject to change and do not remove credit risk.
#FeatureNews