14-RFQ Vol. 1-2 Proposal, Preparation, and Submission Instructions.pdf

Agency for Community Transit Investment Management Services No. 25-2-14401

2. Proposal, Preparation, and Submission Instructions

BID DELIVERY AND ACCEPTANCE INFORMATION:

The Owner requires that bids be submitted electronically via the Bonfire portal at mct-act.bonfirehub.com. Bids submitted in any manner other than through the Bonfire portal will not be accepted. The original bid deadline is not a firm deadline, so if a small amount of additional time is needed to prepare and submit a bid, please send an email to mctbid@mct.org to request an extension of time to accept bids in the Bonfire portal. Bidder must use the Owner’s supplied forms listed in items 1 through 3 below.

FORMS THAT MUST BE IN PDF or EXCEL FORMAT AND UPLOADED TO THE BONFIRE PORTAL:

1) Solicitation, Offer, and Award Form. This form can be signed manually or electronically. The person signing the bid on behalf of the bidder must be the duly authorized representative of the bidder and have the requisite authority to do so.

2) Lobbying Certification

3) Federal Tax Liability and Recent Felony Convictions Certification

4) Technical Response should be organized as follows:

a. Cover letter. An introductory letter on letterhead to introduce the vendor’s Offer. Provide highlights of the vendor’s overall technical response providing a statement explaining why the company would be most qualified to perform the required services. The letter should include a description of your organization including the year the organization was founded, and a description of any special expertise your firm has in providing investment advisory services to non-profit organizations or other similar organizations in the State of Illinois. The letter must include the name, phone number, and email address of the individual(s) empowered to negotiate with the Owner and bind the firm into any Agreement resulting from this solicitation. Any exception to this RFQ must be clearly identified in this letter.

Vendor is cautioned to limit exceptions, conditions and limitations to the provisions of this RFQ, as they may be determined to be so fundamental as to cause rejection of the Offer for not responding to the requirements of the RFQ. Vendor should set forth the specific reasons for each deviation so that it can be fully considered and, if appropriate, evaluated by the Owner. All deviations shall be evaluated in accordance with the appropriate evaluation criteria and procedures and may result in the vendor receiving a less favorable evaluation than without the deviation.

b. Project Approach. In a concise manner, the vendor shall address the Scope of Work requirements stated and how the vendor can offer services that meet or exceed those requirements. This response should address your organization’s investment procedures, approaches and performance including:

1. A description of the process of investing and managing a short-term fixed income portfolio.

2. Are you an active or passive fixed income manager?

3. What fixed income strategies do you offer?

4. Do you buy and hold or sell before maturity?

5. Please submit a track record for non-profit organization or other similar organization investments that are currently being managed.

6. Describe what you would consider the most appropriate benchmark for this project and why.

7. Does your firm practice any underwriting activities?

8. A list of current Illinois non-profit organization or other similar organization assets under management.

9. A list of brokers executing more than 10% of your volume over the last 12 months.

10. A list of total value of the soft dollar received over the last 12 months and their source.

https://mct-act.bonfirehub.com/ mailto:mctbid@mct.org

Agency for Community Transit Investment Management Services No. 25-2-14401

11. Describe all sources of income you receive in connection with investment advisory services to non-profit organizations or other similar organizations.

c. Staffing/Project Manager. Describe your firm’s resources and capabilities. Subcontracting is not permitted. All assigned personnel must be independent from the Owner. Identify and include biographies for specific key personnel assigned, their roles in relation to the work required, and special qualifications they bring to the project such as certifications, licenses, achievements, etc.

d. Experience and Qualifications.The vendor must be licensed to conduct investment advisor and brokerage services in the State of Illinois and provide a statement or documentation to that effect. The vendor shall describe its overall experience and past performance in providing services similar to those solicited in this RFQ showing at least five (5) years of experience managing investment portfolios of non-profit organizations or other similar organizations valued at $10M or more. The vendor shall provide a contact person, address, phone number and email for several references. It is understood that the contact person must be willing to briefly and orally discuss with the Owner the vendor’s work for non-profit organizations or other similar organizations investment management services.

Describe in detail how your firm intends to meet the cybersecurity and data protection requirements outlined in the Scope of Work, including governance, access controls, data security, incident response, vendor management, audit readiness, training, and business continuity.

e. Price. Present the proposed billable cost structure including, if applicable, the fully loaded hourly rates for personnel assigned to this project. Direct costs/expenses should also be listed, if applicable. The description of the fee structure proposed for this project should include:

1) Timing of billing. All billing must be in arrears after services have been performed.

2) Do you use mutual funds or ETFs that have embedded fees and other charges?

3) Attach a sample investment contract with fee schedule.

4) Explanation of option year fees/structure.

REQUESTED INFORMATION THAT MUST BE ANSWERED IN THE BONFIRE PORTAL:

5) If any addenda to the solicitation have been issued, bidders must acknowledge receipt of each addendum.

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