1-Investment Operations Vendor Questionnaire.docx

INVESTMENT OPERATIONS VENDOR QUESTIONNAIRE

DOCUMENT PURPOSE AND TERMS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE

This questionnaire is intended to create a list of pre-qualified vendors that are available to provide investment operations contractor services to SWIB. By having pre-negotiated terms and conditions, rates, and Master Service Agreements (MSAs) in place, it is expected that the lead time to begin an engagement will be reduced.

We are seeking organizations focused on investment operations, fund accounting, performance and benchmarking, data governance and stewardship, and business resumption. In addition to the primary source of revenue being derived from consulting in the investment industry, the vendor should also have demonstrable experience with public and private market investment operations including:

· Alternative Investments (Private Equity, Real Estate, Private Debt, Hedge Funds)

· Cash flow and valuation processing

· Operational due diligence

· Fee analysis and recalculations

· Public Market

· Post trade processing

· Corporate actions

· Derivative operations

· Securities lending and self-borrow operations

· Treasury management

· Valuation

· Asset allocations / Transition management

· Strategy, Portfolio and Fund accounting

· Performance

· Benchmarks

· Third party vendor management

· Data governance and stewardship

· Business process management and measurement

· Operations risk management

· Business resumption and operations continuity

· Project management

This questionnaire does not attempt to provide an exhaustive understanding of SWIB’s environment, nor does it contain all matters upon which vendors will be selected. The issuance of this questionnaire and the acceptance of a response do not bind or impose legal obligation upon SWIB or the vendors in any way, nor do they limit SWIB’s right to negotiate in its best interest with any vendor. Furthermore, SWIB reserves the right not to procure services from this pool if it is determined that this process does not meet the requirements needed to complete any given project. The following additional caveats apply:

· Information Questionnaire Preparation Costs All costs associated with responding to this questionnaire shall be borne by the vendor.

· Submitted Documentation All sales, supporting materials, and other documentation submitted with the response will be retained by SWIB in accordance with SWIB’s Public Records obligations.

· References to SWIB Vendors shall make no references to SWIB in any literature, promotional material, brochures, or sales presentations without the express written consent of SWIB.

ADDITIONAL TERMS

· Proposal Specifications—Public Records Under Wisconsin’s public records law (Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31-19.39, the “Public Records Law”), upon the expiration of the response deadline, all responses shall be deemed public records and shall be subject to requests for public disclosure. Respondents should assume that materials included in their response constitute and are presumed to be public records and, as such, may be subject to disclosure under the Public Records Law, unless an exception is applicable. The Public Records Acknowledgement, which is included in this packet and must be completed and submitted with each response, contains additional information about the Public Records Law and the steps necessary to claim that materials included in a response are exempt from disclosure.

· Withdrawal/Irrevocability of Responses A respondent may withdraw a response prior to entering into a contract.

· Waiver/Cure of Minor Informalities, Errors, and Omissions SWIB reserves the right to waive or permit cure of minor informalities, errors, or omissions, and to conduct discussions with any qualified respondents and to take any other measures with respect to this questionnaire in any manner necessary to serve the best interest of SWIB and its beneficiaries.

· Communications with SWIB During any submission process, communication between the vendor and SWIB shall be limited to only SWIB’s Procurement Team and the vendors’ delegated contact. Throughout this process, communication with other SWIB employees is strictly prohibited (other than routine business with existing service providers) to ensure SWIB’s processes are being followed in accordance with its policies, procedures, and regulations. FAILURE TO OBSERVE THIS RULE MAY BE GROUNDS FOR DISQUALIFICATION FROM A SINGLE OPPORTUNITY OR ALL FUTURE OPPROTUNITIES.

· Rejection of Proposals SWIB reserves the right to request additional information from vendors and reserves the right to reject any proposal without reason.

· Information and Representations The vendors shall be bound by the information and representations contained in any response submitted.

· Contract Term and Funding The contract shall be effective on the contract execution date and shall continue until terminated, according to the terms of the agreement. Additional renewals or extensions of related work are optional.

RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

All inquiries regarding this questionnaire should be sent to SWIB’s Procurement Team - procurement@swib.state.wi.us

Responses must be submitted via the Bonfire solicitation system.

Each submission must include:

· The questionnaire response and any exhibits.

· The completed rate card template.

· The completed and signed ‘Public Records Acknowledgement’ form.

· The completed and signed ‘Representations and Warranties’ form.

· The completed ‘Due Diligence’ questionnaire.

· The most recent ‘Certificate of Insurance’.

· The most recent 'Certificate of Good Standing’ or other business related registration certificates.

Please note:

· SWIB expects all questions contained in this questionnaire to be answered. Unanswered questions may cause vendors to be disqualified.

SWIB’s questionnaire is below and contains questions that require a written response. Enter your responses to the questions in this document and save a copy to submit as your response. Changing the color, size, or font type of the response for each question is permissible. In responding, feel free to provide expanded detail regarding any limitation or constraint for each response.

QUESTIONNAIRE – TO BE COMPLETED BY VENDORS

Qualifications – Proof of qualifications is expected as part of the response submission.

1. Experience

a. Company level experience – Please provide documentation or a statement attesting to each of the requirements outlined below.

i. Company has been in business at least 2 years.

· For companies aged less than 2 years but are lead contractor owned (i.e. – you will be submitting yourself and/or yourself and others for SWIB opportunities) you must demonstrate that you have at least 10 years of experience in the investment management industry by submitting your current resume with at least 10 years of experience captured. This submission is subject to further review and SWIB reserves the right to request additional documentation and references. These submissions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine eligibility.

ii. Company/division leaders have at least 10 years of experience in the investment management industry.

iii. Company has an engagement track-record of 10 or more engagements in the investment management industry. Not applicable if company is aged less than 2 years.

b. Contractor experience - Any individual contractor considered for an engagement with SWIB should have the level of experience identified below.

i. At least 5 years of experience in the investment management industry.

ii. Possess a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in Accounting, Finance, Business, Management, Economics or related degree.

iii. For specific opportunities, certain credentials such as CPA, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, CBCP, etc. may be preferred or required.

2. Corporate focus on the capital markets and experience with buy-side asset management, alternative investment firms, or pension clients: Please submit documentation supporting the qualifications identified below. If financial statements are not available for disclosure, a statement attesting to the qualifications will suffice.

a. A qualified firm or key division within the firm should derive greater than 50 percent of its revenue from engagements with investment management firms.

b. A qualified firm should have an engagement track-record with investment management firms consisting of at least 5 engagements in the last 24 months.

3. Staffing – Outlined below are requirements that SWIB places on contractors engaged on its projects. Please indicate your firm’s willingness to meet these requirements.

a. Engagements may be fully on site at SWIB’s location, fully remote or hybrid of both. SWIB will make every effort to disclose this information at the onset of the project but reserves the right to change this requirement as needed. If travel is required as part of this role SWIB’s consultant travel policy will be provided. Local contractors (within 30 miles of SWIB) will not be reimbursed for travel expenses to and from SWIB’s office should on-site work be a requirement.

b. Contractors must pass an applicable background check prior to working for SWIB. The specifics of the checks performed may vary over time and will be confirmed prior to accepting any specific contractor for an engagement.

4. Rate Card - provide a current rate card outlining the rates for the various contractor levels or services provided by your organization. Updated rate cards can be provided to SWIB once within 12-month period.

5. As part of this questionnaire process, SWIB is including its template MSA, for your review and signature. Please note that SWIB does not accept redlined or edited versions of our documentation.

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