Investment Management Services

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES
ISSUE DATE: May 29, 2026
PROPOSAL DUE DATE: June 26, 2026
CONTACT:
Wilson Orvis, Chief Financial Officer, worvis@friantwater.org

Friant Water Authority | Request for Proposals - Investment Management Services
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR
INVESTMENT MANAGMENT SERVICES
The Friant Water Authority (FWA) is soliciting Proposals from interested firms to provide investment
management services. FWA has recently completed the first phase of the Middle Reach Capacity
Correction Project and is proceeding with the next phase of the project. As a result, it needs to
invest and manage approximately $35 million in funding to meet annual debt service obligations for
the first phase and will be receiving approximately $195 million of funding for the next phase of
construction. This is a substantial increase in available funds for FWA and FWA is issuing this
Request for Proposals to ensure that FWA optimizes the return from these funds while meeting the
other two primary objectives of safety and liquidity. The average daily balance of the investment
portfolio will decline over time as construction proceeds, but initially will be approximately $230
million, falling to approximately $35 million over a period of three years.
The investment of FWA's funds is guided by applicable California statutes and FWA's Investment
Policy. The Investment Policy will be revised to allow additional investments consistent with State
statutes. A copy of the current Investment Policy is attached for your information. The selected
respondent(s) will be consulted regarding changes needed to the Investment Policy.
I. BACKGROUND
FWA is a joint powers authority created for the purpose of operating and maintaining the Friant-Kern
Canal, (FKC), a component of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Central Valley Project, located in the
southern San Joaquin Valley of California. As a joint powers authority, the Authority operates and
maintains the Friant-Kern Canal on behalf of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation pursuant to a
transferred works agreement. FWA also works to preserve and enhance water supplies and water
rights for contractors of the Friant Division of the Central Valley Project, regularly coordinates with
the California Department of Water Resources and other state and federal agencies on water supply
issues and provides advocacy on state and federal water-related legislation and regulations. Under
the terms of a transferred works agreement, the FWA allocates the operations, maintenance, and
replacement (OM&R) costs to Friant Division water contractors. Separately, General Membership
activities are funded through separate allocations to its members. The FWA board is comprised of
twenty-three appointed representatives, one from each member agency.
FWA has managed its own investments, which are distributed between the Local Agency Investment
Fund (LAIF), California Asset Management Program (CAMP), and its commercial bank. FWA
anticipates receiving a significant amount of funding from the Bureau of Reclamation to fund major
construction work on the FKC, including pump stations along the canal. This agreement is expected
to transfer around $195 million and will be expended over the next two to three years. In addition,
FWA expects to maintain around $30 to $40 million of investable funds for the next five to 10 years,
which is in addition to its operating funds.
As such, FWA is seeking professional investment management to meet its goals of safety, liquidity
and yield.
Questions regarding this RFP should be directed to:
Wilson Orvis, Chief Financial Officer
Friant Water Authority
Wilson.orvis@friantwater.org
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Friant Water Authority | Request for Proposals - Investment Management Services
II. SELECTION CRITERIA
A. Understanding the scope
B. Experience and qualifications of firm and individuals assigned.
C. Recommended approach to management of the FWA's portfolio, including customer service,
reporting and responsiveness.
D. Familiarity with state and federal investment and reporting requirements.
E. Fees.
III. SELECTION TIMETABLE
Date Event
June 26, 2026 Proposals due by 5:00 pm PST
Proposal evaluation, interviews scheduled (as
July 2026
needed)
July 27 - 30, 2026 Committee and Board consideration and action
IV. PROPOSAL FORMAT
Proposals must be no more than 15 pages, exclusive of appendices, and be submitted in the following
format:
A. Cover letter summarizing the firm's qualifications and proposal, signed by a representative that can
bind the firm.
B. Firm Organization
i. Describe your organization, date founded, ownership and other business affiliations. Provide
number and location of affiliated offices. Specify the number of years your organization has
provided investment management services.
ii. Describe your firm's revenue sources (e.g., investment management, institutional research, etc.)
and comment on your firm's financial condition.
iii. Describe any significant developments in the organization that have occurred in the past three
years (e.g., changes in ownership, new business ventures)? Please identify any other changes
expected in the next two years.
iv. Describe any U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) censures or litigation involving
your organization, any officer, or employee at any time.
v. Identify the types of accounts managed by your firm (e.g., government, pension, corporate, high
net worth, endowment/foundation, etc.)
vi. Describe the firm's fiduciary liability and/or errors and omissions insurance coverage. Include
dollar amount of coverage.
C. Personnel
i. Identify the number of professionals employed by your firm by classification.
ii. Provide an organization chart showing function, positions, and titles of the investment
professionals in your organization.
iii. Provide biographical information/resumes for the investment professionals that will be involved in
the decision-making process for FWA's portfolio, including number of years at your firm. Identify
the individual(s) who will be the primary portfolio manager and relationship manager assigned to
the account.
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Friant Water Authority | Request for Proposals - Investment Management Services
iv. Describe your firm's compensation policies for investment professionals.
D. Assets Under Management
i. Summarize your institutional investment management asset totals by category for your latest
reporting period in the following table:
Category Market Value Percent of Assets
Governmental $____________ ______%
Institutional $____________ ______%
ii. Provide the number of separate accounts whose portfolios consist of operating funds and
construction funds.
iii. List in the following table the market value and percentage by market value of aggregate assets
under management for your latest reporting period:
Type of Asset Market Value Percent of Assets
U.S. Treasuries $____________ ______%
U.S. Agencies $____________ ______%
Commercial Paper $____________ ______%
Repurchase Agreements $____________ ______%
Corporate Securities Rated AA or
$____________ ______%
Better
Corporate Securities Rated A $____________ ______%
Other $____________ ______%
iv. Describe the procedures that your firm has in place to address the potential or actual credit
downgrade of an issuer and to disclose and advise a client of the situation, including proposed
actions to address the situation.
v. Provide data on account/asset growth over the past three years. Indicate the number of
accounts gained and the number of accounts lost.
vi. List your five largest public agency clients. Identify those that are exclusively operating fund
relationships and/or those that are other relationships (e.g., bond fund, construction funds,
retirement fund, etc.)
vii. Provide a copy of the firm's Form ADV, Parts I and II (including all schedules).
viii. Provide proof of State of California Registration, if your firm is not eligible for SEC registration.
ix. Provide a sample contract for services.
E. Philosophy/Approach
i. Describe your firm's investment philosophy for public clients, including your firm's philosophy
regarding average duration, maturity, investment types, credit quality, and yield.
ii. Describe in detail your investment process, as you would apply it to FWA's portfolio.
iii. What are the primary strategies for adding value to portfolios (e.g., market timing, credit
research, trading, etc.)?
iv. Describe the process you would recommend for establishing the investment objectives and
constraints for this account.
v. Do you have or would you recommend policy restrictions with respect to maturity, sector, quality,
and coupon beyond those included in state statute?
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Friant Water Authority | Request for Proposals - Investment Management Services
vi. Describe in detail your process of credit risk management, including how you analyze credit
quality, monitor credits on an ongoing basis, and will report credit decisions to FWA.
vii. Describe your firm's trading methodology.
viii. Describe your firm's decision-making process in terms of structure, committees, membership,
meeting frequency, responsibilities, integration of research ideas, and portfolio management.
ix. Describe your research capabilities as they would pertain to FWA's portfolio. What types of
technical analysis do you use?
x. Describe the firm's approach to managing relationships with the broker-dealer community.
F. Portfolio Management
i. Are portfolios managed by teams or one individual?
ii. What is the average number of accounts handled per manager?
iii. Which professional staff member will be the primary client contact for FWA?
iv. How frequently do you propose meeting with FWA (meetings can be conducted remotely and/or
in person)?
v. Describe procedures used to ensure that portfolios comply with client investment objectives,
policies, and bond resolutions. How often does your firm review portfolios to ensure compliance
with investment policies and state statutes?
G. Fees
i. Please include a copy of your firm's fee schedule applicable to this RFP.
ii. Identify any expenses that would not be covered through this fee structure and would be
required in order to implement the firm's program.
iii. Is there a minimum annual fee?
iv. Please provide a statement of fees for any additional services.
H. Performance Reporting
i. Please describe how you typically report performance.
ii. Please provide performance history for the past five years for three of your current public agency
accounts comprised of securities with maturities, quality and sectors like those of FWA. Indicate
whether your returns are calculated and compiled in accordance with the GIPS standards. If not,
how does the performance presentation differ from GIPS standards?
iii. Do your reports conform to State reporting standards?
iv. How will you notify us of investment transactions? Are confirmation of investment transactions
sent directly by the broker/dealer to the client?
I. References
Provide four public agency client references in California. References should be public agencies with
portfolio size and investment objectives similar to FWA. Include length of time managing the assets,
agency name, contact name, email and phone number.
J. Insurance Requirements
The selected firm will be required to maintain adequate insurance coverage for the duration of the
engagement, including at minimum professional liability (errors and omissions), cyber liability, and
workers' compensation. Specific coverage types, minimum limits, and endorsement requirements will be
set forth in the agreement executed with the selected firm and must be satisfactory to FWA prior to
commencement of services.
Evidence of required insurance shall be provided before work begins. Failure to obtain and maintain
required coverage shall constitute grounds for termination of the agreement.
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Friant Water Authority | Request for Proposals - Investment Management Services
K. Proposal Submittal
i. The proposal must be submitted by email, identifying the email as RFP Response for Investment
Management Services to:
Wilson Orvis, Chief Financial Officer
worvis@friantwater.org
ii. Proposals must be received no later than 5:00 pm PST on June 26, 2026.
L. Other Terms and Conditions
i. Public Records Act Request
All proposals submitted in response to this RFP will become the property of FWA upon submission and a
matter of public record pursuant to applicable law (including the California Public Records Act,
Government Code section 6250 and following). FWA reserves the right to make copies of all proposals
available for inspection and copying by interested members of the public as records of FWA, and FWA
will be under no obligation to the vendor to withhold such records. Insofar as a proposal contains
information that the vendor regards as proprietary and confidential, it is the responsibility of the vendor
(and not FWA) to specifically identify which items of information are proprietary and clearly identify in
writing which specific pieces of information are proprietary. It will be insufficient for the vendor to merely
identify the entire proposal or an entire page or set of pages of proprietary information. Not-to-exceed
sums, hourly rates and the like that may be set forth in the proposal will not constitute proprietary
information nor will any information readily available to the general public or any other information not
regarded as proprietary and confidential under federal or state law.
ii. FWA reserves the right to:
* Reject any and all RFP responses received.
* Issue a subsequent RFP.
* Cancel the entire RFP.
* Remedy technical errors in the RFP process.
* Negotiate with any, all, or none of the respondents to the RFP.
* Waive informalities and irregularities.
* Accept multiple responses.
* Make multiple recommendation(s) to the FWA Board of Directors.
* Request additional information or clarification.
All responses and their contents will become the property of FWA.
a. FWA will not reimburse vendors for any costs associated with any travel and/or per diem
incurred in any presentations or for any costs in preparing and submitting a RFP response.
b. FWA reserves the right to end, in its sole discretion, negotiations at any time with any or all
vendors. This RFP does not commit FWA to enter into a contract, nor does it obligate it to pay
any costs incurred in the preparation and submission of responses or in anticipation of a
contract.
c. All contract awards require approval of such award by the FWA Board of Directors.
d. FWA shall not be responsible for errors or omissions on the part of the respondent in preparation
of a proposal. FWA reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, to wave any irregularities,
or informalities in the proposals, and to negotiate modifications to any proposal.
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Friant Water Authority | Request for Proposals - Investment Management Services
APPENDIX - DRAFT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT
Friant Water Authority (Client) hereby retains (Advisor) as Investment Advisor on the terms and
conditions set forth herein.
I. TERM
The term of this Agreement shall commence upon the execution of this Agreement and shall continue
until this Agreement is terminated effective upon receipt of notice of termination in writing delivered by the
terminating party.
II. FEES
Client shall compensate Advisor monthly an amount calculated on the average market value of Client's
portfolio, in accordance with the following schedule:
Assets Under Management Annual Investment Management Fee
The fees expressed above do not include any custody fees that may be charged by Client's bank or other
third party custodian.
Fees shall be prorated to the effective date of termination on the basis of actual days elapsed, and any
unearned portion of prepaid fees shall be refunded. Client is not required to pay any start-up or closing
fees; there are no penalty fees.
Fees shall be deducted monthly in arrears from Client's custody account.
III. CLIENT REPRESENTATIVE
In its capacity as investment manager, Advisor shall receive all instructions, directions and other
communications on Client's behalf respecting Client's account from (Representative). Advisor is hereby
authorized to rely and act upon all such instructions, directions and communications from such
Representative or any agent of such Representative.
IV. INVESTMENT POLICY
In investing and reinvesting Client's assets, Advisor shall comply with Client's Investment Policy, which is
attached hereto as Exhibit A.
V. AUTHORITY OF ADVISOR
Advisor is hereby granted full discretion to invest and reinvest all assets under its management in any
type of security it deems appropriate, subject to the instructions given or guidelines set by
Representative.
VI. NOTICES
Any notice shall be mailed to Client at the following address: Client Name
Address
City, State Zip Code
and to Advisor at the following address:
Advisor Name Address
City, State Zip Code
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VII. CUSTODY OF SECURITIES AND FUNDS
Advisor shall not have custody or possession of the funds or securities that Client has placed under its
management. Client may appoint a custodian to take and have possession of its assets.
VIII. INVESTMENT ADVICE
Client recognizes that the opinions, recommendations and actions of Advisor will be based on information
deemed by it to be reliable, but not guaranteed to or by it. Provided that Advisor acts in good faith, Client
agrees that Advisor will not in any way be liable for any error in judgment or for any act or omission,
except as may otherwise be provided for under the Federal Securities laws or other applicable laws.
IX. PAYMENT OF COMMISSIONS
Advisor may place buy and sell orders with or through such brokers or dealers as it may select. It is the
policy and practice of Advisor to strive for the best price and execution and for commission and discounts
that are competitive in relation to the value of the transaction and which comply with Section 28(e) of the
Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Nevertheless, it is understood that Advisor may pay a commission
on transactions in excess of the amount another broker or dealer may charge, and that Advisor makes no
warranty or representation regarding commissions paid on transactions hereunder.
X. OTHER CLIENTS
It is further understood that Advisor may be acting in a similar capacity for other institutional and
individual clients, and that investments and reinvest-ments for client's portfolio may differ from those
made or recommended with respect to other accounts and clients even though the investment objectives
may be the same or similar. Accordingly, it is agreed that Advisor will have no obligation to purchase or
sell for Client's account any securities that it may purchase or sell for other clients.
XI. NO ASSIGNMENT
This Agreement may not be assigned by Advisor without Client's consent, but may be amended at any
time by mutual agreement in writing.
XII. GOVERNING LAW
It is understood that this Agreement shall be governed by and construed under and in accordance with
the laws of the State of California.
XIII. SEVERABILITY
Any provision of this Agreement that is prohibited or unenforceable shall be ineffective only to the extent
of such prohibition or unenforceability without invalidating the remaining provisions hereof.
XIV. RECEIPT OF BROCHURE
Client has received the disclosure statement or "brochure" required to be delivered pursuant to Rule 204-
3 of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 (Brochure).
Client understands that it has the right to terminate this Agreement without penalty within five (5) days
after entering into this Agreement.
CLIENT
BY DATE
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ADVISOR
BY DATE
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