Exhibit B_Cat 2-Scored Non Cost Factors.docx

EXHIBIT B – SCORED NON-COST FACTORS (SERVICES)

CATEGORY 2 – INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES

Type/print full legal name of bidder company

Instructions:

Note: This Exhibit B applies to bidders proposing to provide Investment Management Services under a direct contract with Washington Saves. Bidders may provide the services directly, through affiliates, consortium members, integrated services structures, or other unaffiliated subcontractors but must identify each entity that will perform each service and describe how the bidder will ensure performance of all proposed services.

Bidders must follow the instructions outlined in this Exhibit, or the bid will be deemed to be nonresponsive and rejected.

1. Insert bidder’s legal business name in the box above.

2. Review and respond to all questions. Bidders must respond to all Requirement ID’s (REQ ID). Bidders submitting a proposal for Category 2 — Investment Management Services — must respond to all Requirement IDs in this Exhibit.

3. Provide a written response that addresses how the bidder meets or exceeds each requirement in the Written Response column.

a. Supporting Information. Please make sure to include references in Exhibit A – Bidder’s Certification that align with the information provided in this Exhibit B. Washington Saves may request additional information or references to help verify the information provided by the bidder in this exhibit. A bidder’s failure to provide such requested information to DFI within five (5) business days may result in disqualification.

b. Bidder’s Commitments. The bidder’s responses to the performance requirements below will be incorporated into such awarded bidder’s contract, if awarded. Therefore, the bidder is cautioned to propose only commitments that bidder can fully meet throughout the term of the contract. If an awarded bidder is unable to meet the terms of the contract, bidder will be in breach and subject to termination and/or damages as described by the contract. See Exhibit D- Contract.

c. Word Limit. Bidder’s responses must fully demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter. Limited responses may receive lower scores than those that more fully demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter. However, conciseness is also preferred, and the following limits are provided:

· The total word count for all written responses in this Exhibit B must not exceed 15,000 words. Any text in excess of this limit will be deleted prior to forwarding the submittals to the evaluation team. Attachments specifically requested or permitted in this exhibit will not count toward the word limit. Bidders are encouraged to provide clear, concise responses and should avoid duplicative, generic, or promotional material.

· Each written response must be complete and will be evaluated as written. Additional materials such as links to external content or embedded documents are not allowed and will not be evaluated.

· Bidders are not required to provide responses in the template tables provided below. Bidders may use their own template as long as each response is clearly labelled with the REQ ID and bulleted question under the Written Response column.

4. Submit your response as a Microsoft Word document. If you need to print out this document for any reason, please note this document is sized Legal 8.5” x 14”.

Important Note: Bidders must follow the instructions above as they complete this Exhibit B, or the bid will be deemed nonresponsive and rejected. Washington Saves, at its discretion, waive informalities and/or request clarification of a bid response, as described in the Competitive Solicitation Section 4 – Bid Evaluation of the Competitive Solicitation.

· An informality is an immaterial variation from the exact requirements, which has no effect, or a negligible effect, on the good or services being solicited. Washington Saves, at its discretion, may waive informalities.

· If clarification is requested, Washington Saves will do so in writing. The request will include a response deadline (5 business days), and the bidder’s response to clarification requests must be received by that deadline, or the bid will be deemed nonresponsive.

Evaluation: Bidder’s written response to this Exhibit will be evaluated as follows:

Bidder’s Response Required:

Stated Business Need

To meet the minimum acceptable standard [0%]: The bidder must demonstrate that the bidder or its subcontractors proposed to provide Investment Management Services have at least five (5) years of experience providing investment management, investment advisory, or substantially similar services for public, institutional, retirement, savings, or other comparable investment programs.

Bidders who do not meet this minimum acceptable standard will be disqualified from further consideration.

Value-Added Considerations: The financial strength of each contract party (and its parent entity) will be considered and, as applicable, performance guarantees (e.g. letters of credit or surety bonds) will enhance a contract party’s submission.

Experience will be evaluated based on relevance, depth, recency, scale, and the bidder’s role in the engagement. Responses will be scored more favorably when the bidder demonstrates experience directly relevant to the services sought under this RFP, generally in the following order of relevance:

· Direct experience launching, administering, operating, or managing investments for state-facilitated automatic enrollment IRA programs;

· Experience with similar state-sponsored or public savings programs, including 529 or ABLE programs;

· Experience with public-sector defined contribution retirement programs or other government-sponsored retirement savings arrangements;

· Experience with state investment boards, public pension systems, or other public institutional investment programs.

· Experience with private-sector institutional retirement, IRA, defined contribution, recordkeeping, investment management, or savings programs of comparable scale or complexity.

Note: Experience outside the public-sector context may be considered relevant when the bidder clearly demonstrates how that experience is comparable to the services, scale, operational complexity, participant needs, and fiduciary or governance responsibilities of Washington Saves.

Additional value may be recognized for responses that demonstrate multiple comparable engagements, recent experience, experience at comparable scale, experience supporting launch or early implementation, and relevant experience held by the proposed key personnel assigned to Washington Saves.

Written Response Required.

· Confirm that the bidder meets the minimum acceptable standard described. Identify the legal contracting party. If the legal contracting party is not the parent entity, indicate whether a parent guarantee or other assurance of performance will be provided.

· List all entities that will perform services under the contract, including subcontractors, affiliates, subsidiaries, consortium members, independent contractors, or outside consultants. Complete the table below and add rows as needed.

Administration

Recordkeeping

Customer Service

Marketing and Communications

Investment Management / Advisory

· Describe the bidder’s relevant experience administering, managing, or supporting auto-IRA programs, IRAs, defined contribution retirement programs, 529 plans, ABLE programs, public pension systems, state investment programs, or similar public savings or investment programs.

· For any auto-IRA or similar public savings program experience, include specifics on services provided, employer volume, participant volume, launch or implementation stage, and duration of the engagement, to the extent available.

· Using the table below, provide three client references where the bidder, or an entity proposed to provide services under this contract, has provided services comparable to those sought in the Statement of Work.

Name and Title

Phone Number

Email Address

Client Organization

Service Provided

Length of Relationship

· Using the table below, identify the key professionals who will provide services under the contract. Add rows as needed.

Overall Engagement

Day-to-day Relationship Management

Administration

Recordkeeping

Customer Service

Marketing and Communications

Investment Management / Advisory

Data Security / Technology

Other Key Role, if applicable

· Please describe the backup coverage if the primary relationship manager or other key personnel become unavailable.

To meet the minimum acceptable standard [0%]: The bidder must describe how it would manage investment options as a fiduciary for the Board and Program participants in accordance with investment objectives and governing documents adopted by the Board, applicable federal securities laws and regulations, and the anticipated characteristics of the Washington Saves participant population. The bidder must have an existing process or documented methodology for this function. A response indicating that the bidder does not have such a process will not satisfy the Minimum Acceptable Standard. The investment manager must confirm they manage a minimum of $2 billion of assets under management in a comparably structured investment program.

Bidders who do not meet this minimum acceptable standard will be disqualified from further consideration.

Value-Added Considerations: Responses will be scored more favorably if they demonstrate:

· Relevant, recent, and comparable experience managing investments for auto-IRA programs, 529 plans, ABLE plans, public-sector defined contribution programs, or similar savings or retirement programs, evaluated based on relevance, depth, recency, scale, and the bidder’s role in the engagement;

· Prior experience managing investment options for programs serving participant populations with characteristics similar to Washington Saves, including first-time savers, low or fluctuating contribution levels, small account balances, participant inertia, and varied investment time horizons;

· Prior experience aligning investment services with Board-adopted investment objectives, fiduciary oversight processes, public program governance requirements, or similar client-directed investment governance structures; and

· Documented examples of prior work where the bidder adapted investment management, communications, reporting, or governance support to meet the needs of a public savings program, retirement program, or similar participant population.

· Describe how the bidder would manage investment options as a fiduciary for the Board and Program participants in accordance with investment objectives and governing documents adopted by the Board and applicable federal securities laws and regulations.

· Describe the bidder’s investment philosophy for a state-facilitated automatic enrollment, payroll deduction IRA program serving participants with varied income levels, savings experience, account balances, risk tolerances, and investment time horizons.

· Confirm bidder manages a minimum of $2 billion of assets under management in a comparably structured investment program.

Written Response Value-Added Considerations

· Describe the bidder’s experience managing investments for auto-IRA programs, 529 plans, ABLE plans, public-sector defined contribution programs, or similar savings or retirement programs.

To meet the minimum acceptable standard [0%]: The bidder must describe each investment option proposed for Washington Saves, identify whether it is proposing a full investment lineup, a portion of a lineup, or one or more specialized investment options, and explain the role each option would play within the Program. The bidder must explain how the proposed option(s) align with Washington Saves’ anticipated participant population and program design, including any proposed target date, capital preservation, core, ESG, values-based, or specialized option.

Bidders who do not meet this minimum acceptable standard will be disqualified from further consideration.

Value-Added Considerations: Responses will be scored more favorably if they demonstrate:

· A proposed investment option structure that clearly aligns with Washington Saves’ program goals, anticipated participant population, IRA structure, and the Board’s objectives for simplicity, diversification, appropriate risk, liquidity, and long-term retirement saving;

· An investment option structure that preserves participant simplicity and avoids unnecessary complexity, duplication, or participant confusion while still providing appropriate diversification and participant choice; and

· Flexibility for the Board to remove, replace, or add investment options over time without unreasonable operational, contractual, investment vehicle, or timing limitations.

· List each proposed investment option (including all portfolios if proposing a glidepath option).

· Describe the structure of any proposed target date retirement solution, including glide path approach, asset allocation approach, underlying investment structure, and rebalancing approach.

· Describe any proposed core investment options, including equity, fixed income, balanced, ESG, values-based, or other specialized options.

· Describe any proposed capital preservation, liquidity, stable value, money market, short-term, or other conservative option, including its purpose, liquidity characteristics, and suitability for use as an initial/default holding option before transfer to a target date or other Board-approved investment option.

· Describe any other proposed investment options that may support participant choice and alignment with participant values (e.g. ESG and other values-based investment option).

· Identify whether the proposed investment option(s) are proprietary, affiliated, unaffiliated, or third-party investment options, and describe any operational, contractual, timing, or investment vehicle limitations on the Board’s ability to remove, replace, or add investment options in the future.

To meet the minimum acceptable standard [0%]: The bidder must describe the investment option-level reports, data, performance information, and monitoring support it will provide to Washington Saves, the Board, and the Board’s Investment Consultant. The bidder must also describe how it will coordinate with Washington Saves, the Board, and the Board’s Investment Consultant in connection with investment reviews, performance monitoring, investment option changes, and periodic audits or evaluations. The bidder must have an existing process or documented methodology for this function. A response indicating that the bidder does not have such a process will not satisfy the Minimum Acceptable Standard.

Bidders who do not meet this minimum acceptable standard will be disqualified from further consideration.

Value-Added Considerations: Responses will be scored more favorably if they demonstrate:

· Specific reporting commitments, including report types, frequency, format, benchmarks, risk measures, holdings or allocation information, and investment option-level data available to Washington Saves and the Board’s Investment Consultant;

· Timely access to investment professionals who can answer fund-specific or strategy-specific questions, including questions related to target date glide paths, capital preservation options, ESG or values-based options, market conditions, and investment option changes;

· A defined process for communicating material investment, market, product, regulatory, or operational developments affecting the proposed investment option(s);

· Coordination processes that support the Board’s Investment Consultant in conducting independent monitoring, reporting, benchmarking, fiduciary review, and recommendations; and

· Experience providing investment option-level reporting and subject matter support to fiduciaries, boards, investment consultants, public programs, retirement programs, or other institutional clients.

· List the investment option-level reports the bidder will provide, including report type, data included, frequency, format, and intended audience.

· Describe the performance data, benchmarks, risk measures, holdings or allocation information, market commentary, and other investment option-level information that will be available to Washington Saves and the Board’s Investment Consultant.

· Describe how the bidder will support the Board and its Investment Consultant in conducting independent monitoring, reporting, benchmarking, fiduciary review, and recommendations.

· Describe the bidder’s process for identifying and communicating material investment, market, product, regulatory, operational, or compliance developments affecting the proposed investment option(s).

· Describe the bidder’s availability to meet with Washington Saves staff, the Board, or the Board’s Investment Consultant to answer fund-specific or strategy-specific questions, including questions related to target date glide paths, capital preservation options, ESG or values-based options, market conditions, or potential investment option changes.

· Describe how the bidder would support Washington Saves and the Board in removing, replacing, or adding investment options in the future, if requested.

· Describe the bidder’s approach to coordinating with Washington Saves, the Board, the Board’s Investment Consultant, custodians, recordkeepers, or other service providers in connection with investment reviews, periodic audits, evaluations, and potential investment option changes.

15.

Required Non-Scored Submittals / Documentation. The following documents and disclosures are required for responsiveness, responsibility review, minimum qualification verification, contract review, or other non-scored evaluation purposes. These submittals will not be scored as value-added responses unless expressly stated elsewhere in this Exhibit. Bidders must provide the documents applicable to the service category for which they are submitting a proposal. Combined Services bidders must provide all documents applicable to both Program Administration Services and Investment Management Services. These can be submitted as PDF attachments. PDF attachments submitted for this Requirement ID will not count toward the Exhibit B word limit.

Return this exhibit to Procurement Coordinator at:

info@wasaves.wa.gov

EXHIBIT B – SCORED NON-COST FACTORS (SERVICES) (REV 4/10/25) PAGE 2

image1.jpeg